Change of Heart
by cheergirlejami
Summary: AU-EJ Wells is a new professor at Salem University; Sami Brady is just praying she will pass English Lit.  What happens when two people collide with very different goals about what they want in life can lead to unexpected results.
1. Chapter 1

**Change of Heart**

_Alternate Universe Fic-EJ Wells is a new professor at Salem University; Sami Brady is just praying she will pass English Lit so that she can leave the town of Salem behind for the real world awaiting her upon graduation from college. What happens when two people collide with very different goals about what they want in life can lead to unexpected results._

This is dedicated to Ave-you are a true friend and I love you! You make me smile and laugh each day.

_**Change of Heart  
>Prologue<strong>_

"Isn't there any way I can forgo taking English Lit?" Sami Brady asked as she gave her advisor a pleading look hoping by flashing her intriguing sapphire blue eyes his way it could make him change his mind about her new fall schedule.

"You've put if off long enough Miss Brady," Mr. Brock paid no heed to her womanly tactics, Sami Brady was known far and wide among the academia at Salem University as being what they would call a con artist, that is if they could do so, but most knowingly did not for fear of reprisal from her step father. John Black was one of the most outstanding contributors to the university and it would not sit well with him if his beloved step daughter was revealed to be one of the most prolific liars ever in the history of Salem U. The girl could come up with more plausible excuses as to why her work wasn't completed then anyone ever to grace the halls before her and many doubted afterwards either.

Mr. Brock had been given the dubious honor of trying to make sure Miss Brady graduated from college without having to face the probationary board. It was a job he took seriously, he had never faced a challenge he couldn't overcome, but sometimes he thought he was getting a bit on in years as Miss Brady tried his patience time and time again. He had smoothed many a professor's ruffled feathers when they had come to complain to him about the lack of care she took in their classes, her sarcasm and wit did not endear her to many of the staff at all. But the dean had chosen him to make sure that John Black's step daughter would make it through with a degree in whatever her heart desired.

Mr. Brock was a devout man, fully believing in miracles and as he looked over Miss Brady's records, he knew it would be a miracle indeed if the girl received her diploma from Salem University. There was no dodging it any longer, she would have to take her required English classes whether she liked it or not…

_**Change of Heart**_

_Chapter 1_

"Jamie, I did everything I could to make Mr. Brock change my schedule, but he wouldn't even listen to me," Sami fumed as she and Jamie were in the process of decorating their dorm room for the new college year. They had survived their freshman year in one of the grungier dorms, and now they were moving into one of the more desirable dorms on campus. Even though Sami had begged John for her and Jamie to get an apartment, on this one subject, her step father would not budge, it seemed he and her mother wanted Sami to get the full college experience by living in the dorm.

Jamie was decorating her side of the room with various posters of rock and movie stars now that she had her comforter and pillows correctly placed upon her bed. After strategically placing her favorite poster of Johnny Depp on the wall where she could see him from her bed, she turned to face her grumpy roommate, "Sami, I tried to get you to take English Lit with me last year."

Sami flopped down on her bed, grabbing a pillow to hug, "I despise English and you know how badly I dislike old man Hodges, he can make you fall asleep in his class before he ever utters a word."

"There's more than Professor Hodges in the English department," Jamie said, going back to her stash of posters deciding which one would look best beside her man Johnny, shaking her head she discarded most of the ones she had brought and reached for another poster of Johnny. Yes, that was much better she thought as she starting placing it on the wall.

"A bunch of old pea hens like Ms. Proctor and Ms. Straub," Sami tossed her pillow in Jamie's direction trying to get her full attention, didn't her best friend realize she would have a terrible fall semester because she would be stuck in one of those old dinosaur's classes. "They are even worse than Hodges and that is saying a lot."

"You are too hard on the teachers," Jamie threw Sami's pillow back in her general direction.

"Well if you weren't such a teacher's pet, you'd see they are all just a lot of windbags," Sami rolled over on her bed and then suddenly her mood brightened. "Oh Jamie, I heard the Sigma Nu's were having a welcome back to school bash tonight over at their fraternity house. We definitely need to go!"

"Sami, I just want to get our room ready," Jamie hedged, not wanting to let her best friend know that she hated going to those parties even though she usually dragged her to them because she couldn't take her nagging about not going with her.

"Jamie, this is our sophomore year, we are no longer freshman, and we have to go!"

"You may feel you have to go, I do not," Jamie went over to her desk to look at her collection of books she had bought at the bookstore earlier in the afternoon.

Sami got up from her bed and went to stand in between Jamie and her desk, "No way, you are not going to stay in tonight to get ahead on reading while there is partying going on just a few blocks down the road on fraternity row."

"I don't want to go," Jamie sighed, wishing her friend wouldn't be so insistent in trying to get her to go places with her; Sami was the outgoing one, while she on the other hand had no problem staying in their room studying.

"It will be fun," Sami urged, trying to get Jamie excited about going with her.

"The boys are so obnoxious," Jamie tried another tactic with Sami although she doubted it would do any good, when her friend got her mind on something she was very hard to deter to another way of thinking.

"There will be some cute ones partying,," Sami began in a sing song voice. "I bet Lucas will be there and I know you like him."

"I do not!" Jamie shook her head, wishing she had never told Sami she thought Lucas Roberts was cute, from that point on Sami had never let her live it down. Most times Jamie couldn't even muster up enough courage to tell him hello, much less get into a conversation with him.

"Come on please Jamie, I need you there with me," Sami pleaded, giving her best puppy dog eyed look to her friend.

"You need me to carry you home," Jamie grumbled as she rolled her eyes and went to her closet to find an outfit to wear, if not Sami would pester her until she gave in.

"I do not need you to carry me home," Sami said smiling going to her closet to find something to wear too.

"Yeah right," Jamie said grabbing a t shirt and some jeans, she really didn't care what she looked like and hopefully she'd be able to skip out on the party as soon as Sami mingled around some. "I bet you'll have a hangover for the first day of classes tomorrow."

"I will not," Sami argued, making a face when she saw the outfit Jamie picked out for herself. "Jamie, you have to wear something else that will not do at all."

"I'm wearing this or I'm not going," Jamie was firm, while Sami could aggravate her enough to go to the party, she was not going to be the fashion police for her either.

"Suit yourself," Sami shook her head, sometimes she didn't understand her best friend at all, but at least they were going to the party together and that was what mattered for now. She's show Jamie she wouldn't have a hangover tomorrow, why she would be ready to go first thing. She was sure of it.

_**Change of Heart**_

_Chapter 2_

There was a terrible sound going on in their room, Sami warily noted as she tried to raise her head from her pillow with no success. She had to stop whatever that irritating noise was and raised an unsteady hand in the direction she thought the sound was coming from trying to find its existence.

"Wake up Sleeping Beauty," Jamie said in an even louder voice than the wretched booming that was apparently invading their dorm room.

"Ugh, make it stop," Sami said weakly, her own voice making her wince as the light of the room started trying to creep in on her too. How in the world did she get back here? The last thing she remembered was shot gunning a beer and a rather vague recollection of dancing on a table, but surely that was just a figment of her imagination, wasn't it?

Evidentially not if the look from her roommate was any indication.

"So you won't have a hangover for the first morning of classes?" Jamie asked giving Sami a quizzical look as she was already dressed and ready for class.

"Jamie, it's too early in the morning for this…" Sami began only to be cut off by her best friend.

"Either you get up and dressed right now or I'll pick out your clothes for you," Jamie started to head in the direction of Sami's closet.

"Okay, I'm getting up," Sami said louder than she had meant to do with her head beating a thunderous rhythm echoing all around her as her feet finally touched the floor. No way was Jamie going to pick her outfit. She could only imagine what kind of disastrous combination Jamie would chose for her to wear, just to get her back for making her go to the party last night.

Well it had been fun, or at least she thought it had been from the bits and pieces that she could remember.

"They really should have an extra day for moving into the dorms," Sami complained as she searched her overflowing closet to find something to wear.

"Like a pre-party celebration type deal?" Jamie asked sarcastically waiting for Sami to get ready.

"Exactly," Sami agreed only to be greeted by the rolling eyes of her roommate.

"Sami you need to get your priorities in order," Jamie shook her head wondering if Sami would ever get it that she needed to study more instead of partying all the time.

"You sound just like my mother," Sami gave her as tough of a look as she could manage since most movements felt like some sort of torture to her at the moment.

"You should listen to your mother more," Jamie was ready to go, but was afraid if she left her alone in the room that Sami would go back to sleep and miss the entire first day of classes. "Get a move on, your first class begins in less than 30 minutes."

"I need to shower," Sami groaned throwing the outfit on her bed while Jamie handed her toothbrush, toothpaste and a hair brush all in a pile in her hands.

"No time party girl," Jamie ushered her in the direction of the bathroom despite Sami's protests that she would look like a bedraggled hag if she didn't get a shower in before classes.

"Whose fault is that? I tried to get you up for over an hour but you kept saying one more minute," Jamie mimicked Sami's voice perfectly, it was a common reply she had given her over the years of their friendship.

Sami cast Jamie a menacing glare as she began to brush her teeth, she'd just have to wash off and pray to god that she could get some time in between classes to come back and freshen up. What a way to start off her sophomore year in college.

**_Change of Heart__  
><em>_Chapter 3_**

How she managed to tame her unruly curls and apply makeup before Jamie made her leave their dorm room, she didn't know other than she had gotten pretty good at getting ready in a hurry due to her tendency to want to sleep late. She had to give it to Jamie, if it weren't for her insistency to be on time Sami would have burned through her allotted days to be absent from classes each semester by the second week of classes. Somehow when no one else could get her to do anything, her best friend could make her at least want to try not to be such a screw up.

She knew she needed to get her priorities straight, but there was so much fun to be had, parties to go to, boys to flirt with even though most of them didn't interest her beyond the attention they gave to her. Somehow she just hadn't found the right person or this emotion called love was not for her because not even once had she felt the fluttering of her heart go on a rampant assent and decent for anyone.

Maybe she just didn't have it in her to love or maybe she wasn't loveable material. Whichever the case may be she didn't have time to ponder it fully because if she didn't get a move on she really was going to be late for her first class, not that she was excited about going to it. English Lit was going to suck, she just knew it.

EJ wouldn't say he was nervous, but he didn't like going into situations where he did not know what to expect. He looked around what would be his classroom for this school year with a mild form of trepidation building up within him. He shook the unwelcome feeling off; he was a confident man one that was sure of himself no matter what, although this was an entirely new scenario for him.

While he was completely comfortable when he had been in university, relishing his studies and up to any kind of debate with his professors and classmates, he was now on the other side of the proverbial fence. He only hoped he could do a decent job of teaching.

He had never anticipated teaching, his intent upon graduating college and his further studies of acquiring his doctorate degree from Oxford had been with the intent of pursuing his writing career. The only roadblock so far was that the book was nowhere near being ready and he desperately needed money to survive and his funds were running low.

He was not going to take money from his mother and step-father; they had been too good for him to accept any money from them that along with his pride not allowing him to be beholden to them. They had given him a wonderful childhood and had tried their best to give him whatever he needed to succeed in life. He had taken out student loans to pay for college and now he had to begin paying back those loans.

One day he'd be a bestselling author, he had no doubt in his abilities, while the process was slower than he had anticipated. Coming to America to take this job was a godsend, when he had found out a position was open for an English teacher he had readily accepted, thinking this would be a good start for him. He hated the job would cut into his writing time, but it was a necessary evil. Plus he had heard bits and pieces from his mother's conversations with Edmund of a place called Salem although she generally hushed up and changed the subject when she realized he was listening to them speak.

When he had told his mother of his plans to come to America and teach at Salem University, he hadn't expected her reaction to what he thought would be good news for her. While he realized that he wouldn't be close to home, he hadn't lived with them for quite some time going to university himself for years; he had hoped she would be happy for him. She had seemed to be quite happy at first until he mentioned where in America he would be teaching and when the name Salem had come up in conversation, his mother's persona had changed dramatically. She had tried to talk him out of coming, but he wouldn't be deterred, he had taken the position after learning from one of his professors at Oxford and he couldn't back out now. He was committed to work at Salem for a year, maybe by then his book would be finished and he wouldn't have to teach anymore after that, plus the fact that he wanted to learn more about this town his mother was so secretive about was just another thing to entice him here.

EJ hoped Salem would prove to be interesting, he was here for a year and he was going to make this year count. He looked at his watch, the students would be coming into his classroom soon, he only hoped he had it in him to be a good teacher, he had a lot riding on making this job a successful one. His future career as an author depended upon it.

_**Change of Heart**_

_Chapter 4_

Sami was dragging her feet after she and Jamie parted ways, her best friend's first class was in the science building while Sami had to go to Donavan Hall, another reminder of her family's success as her relatives Shane and Kim had donated money to the college to refurbish the building that housed the language arts department of the college. Her family was all sorts of successful that many times she felt like a complete misfit at family gatherings. Even her twin brother Eric had some sense of direction in his life that is if he would stay away from trampy Nicole Walker, but so far her twin had turned a deaf ear upon her whenever she made derogatory remarks about his current girlfriend.

No one took her seriously, she wanted to blow out of this one horse town and head to New York, where the hub of the fashion industry in America was and she intended to be right in the midst of it. Ever since she had been a little girl she had aspired to design clothes, she had an eye for it, she could spot what would make or break in the fashion industry. She constantly was drawing sketches of designs in her sketch book and scanned to memory countless fashion magazines.

Her step father John thought it was a passing fancy for her, one she would soon outgrow after she took more classes in college. So instead of him allowing her to work for Basic Black, she was going to have to strike out on her own and prove herself. She knew she could do it, but until she graduated she had no funds to get to the next major city outside of Salem, much less New York. Three years was such a long time to wait to get to do what she truly wanted to do and that was to be free from Salem and all the things that tied her down here.

She trudged into class automatically heading to the back of the classroom and more than slightly mystified that most of her cronies that had taken classes with her last year who were strictly back of the room students were sitting up front. Sami wondered if she was in the twilight zone as she made her way past them, a few saying hello, a few not, but she could have cared less because her head was pounding with each step she took into the classroom.

Taking the seat that would be the longest away from the front of the class; she slung her backpack off her shoulder and slid into the seat already hating to be here so early in the morning not to mention English being her least favorite subject. Damn she bet she'd have old man Hodges, she debated putting on her glasses, she really needed them if she sat this far away from the board even though she was a tiny bit too vain to admit it and she hadn't put in her contacts this morning since her head was aching along with Jamie trying to rush her out of the door.

She still felt kind of tipsy now that she had sat down and she had to close her eyes to make the room quit swaying. How much had she drunk last night? She'd lost count with the fraternity boys agging her on to drink just one more with them. Thank goodness Jamie had dragged her out of there before she had done something really stupid like hooking up with one of those guys, but she was sure she had raised all kinds of other hell because she sure felt like a Mack truck had hit her.

Damn Hodges voice sure had changed, Sami thought to herself as she struggled to open her eyes. What she wouldn't do for a few more hours sleep and a nice hot shower. Now that would be heavenly, instead she was forced to take this idiotic class at eight o'clock in the freaking morning. Life just wasn't fair at all.

She would just lay her head down for a few minutes. All Hodges would be doing was going over the rules of the class, boring crap for sure. She could skip this part easily, she was in the back, some big football player was sitting in front of her, surely she could hide and catch a few more zzz's before class was over and she had to go onto her next one.

Somewhere she heard her name being called and the other football player that was sitting on beside her nudged her, "You better wake up Goldilocks, and I think the teacher is calling your name."

"Huh," Sami squinted her eyes at him, trying to remember his name even though him calling her Goldilocks immediately pissed her off.

"Ms. Samantha Brady? Tell me you aren't already sleeping in my class," the voice definitely didn't sound like old man Hodges and as Sami focused her eyes upon the man who had the different sounding voice she knew for sure she wasn't in Hodges class at all. Where in the hell was she? There were no young English professors in the English Department at Salem U. Oh god she bet she had went into the wrong classroom.

"Are you going to answer me or not?" The voice had a hint of snobbery in it for sure as Sami came face to face with what had to be one of the hottest guys she had ever seen in her life. Where had this guy been last year? He must be a transfer student from another country, no one talked like him in Salem.

"Excuse me?" Sami finally found her voice as the hot guy looked at her with irritation.

"You're going to be permanently excused from my class if I catch you sleeping again," the hot guy said tossing a paper down upon her desk and making his way through the rest of the classroom like she didn't even exist.

Sami stared at the paper, it was a syllabus for a Dr. Wells class, who in the hell was he?

"Damn Goldilocks, you've already managed to piss off the professor and we haven't even been in class ten minutes," the football jock laughed as he turned back around, not wanting to attract the attention of the professor because he already seemed mad enough for catching Goldilocks sleeping in his class.

Sami poked the jock on his back forcing him to turn around again, "Is that guy the teacher's assistant or something?"

"No, he told us he is one of the new professors here at Salem U, weren't you paying attention?"

Sami squinted her eyes again, trying to focus on the hot guy now that he was back up in front of the class and dug into her backpack trying to find her glasses. She put them on and instantly she could see to the front of the class. No way could this guy be her professor, no freaking way.

_**Change of Heart**_

**_Chapter 5_**

She didn't fall asleep for the rest of the class, but she couldn't keep focused on what hot guy aka Dr. Wells was saying either. It boggled her mind someone that fine looking could actually be a professor, much less have their doctorate.

No wonder all the girls were vying to sit in the front; they wanted to be up close and personal with the new teacher. Not that Sami cared about being a teacher's pet, which was something she would never be in this lifetime or the next even though she kind of wished she hadn't of gotten behind Mr. Linebacker; he definitely was blocking her view.

She mentally scolded herself; she didn't care if she was in the front of the class and if Mr. Linebacker had been a little bit bulkier he could have hid her while she slept in class. She should not have had those last couple of beers, but in a few hours she would be back in her dorm room, freshly showered and tucked in her bed fast asleep.

She could feel her eyes drooping, she wouldn't fall asleep, she had to stay awake because she wasn't sure if Hotness was kidding about permanently excusing her from his class or not, until she could gauge his personality better she shouldn't test him too much on the first day. Then she smiled thinking he wouldn't get another free pass from her later on in the semester.

She looked at her watch, would he ever quit talking? And another thing how sickening was it to have Brittney and Candice almost tripping over themselves trying to answer his questions, she was sure neither one of them had ever willingly picked up a book to read ever and now they were commenting on almost everything Hotness had to say. Well she wasn't going to make a fool of herself over him just because he was kind of good looking, so far the only positive thing she could see about being a student in this class was that he would be more interesting to look at than old man Hodges, although she doubted Hodges would have threatened to kick her out of class for sleeping.

Mercifully the class finally ended and Sami watched her classmates file out of class one by one, she being behind the football jocks that apparently were in no hurry to get to their next class either. She did roll her eyes at Brittney, was she trying to linger behind to get in another word with what's his name? She looked down at her syllabus again, yeah Dr. Wells. God was Brittney that desperate? Thank god she didn't care what he thought of her as she took off her glasses and slid them back into the side pouch of her backpack.

She was going to have to get some caffeine quick or she would be sure to fall asleep in her next class too. She was rumbling around in her backpack trying to find some spare change for a cup of coffee, god knew she didn't have enough cash with her to buy a Rockstar even though she really needed a super huge dose of caffeine to wake her up.

She was almost out the door when she heard him call her name, "Ms. Brady, may I have a word with you?"

Damn, he'd already embarrassed her in class by telling her that he'd kick her out if he caught her sleeping again. What else could he possibly want to say to her?

Brittney left the class pushing past her giving her a dirty look as Sami turned around to walk back into the classroom. He looked at her for a few minutes not saying a word to her.

"What?" Sami asked a bit too gruffly. She really wasn't in the mood for an inquisition this early in the morning as she cast her eyes downward to the floor, it wouldn't do for her to get a really close look at him, from what she had gathered from her back seat in the classroom he looked good enough from far away, she wasn't sure she could look at him this closely and not gawk at him in that sickening way like Brittney and Candice were doing during the entire class.

"Would it hinder you too much to look me in the eye when I am addressing you?" He wasn't too friendly from what Sami could gather, although she thought his voice had sounded a lot nicer when he was talking to the entire classroom earlier.

She huffed, her breath pushing away the strands of hair that had fallen into her face when she had looked downward at the floor. Still not looking up at him until he said, "I'm waiting."

Defiantly she raised her eyes to meet his, he had incredible eyes and then she stopped herself, she wasn't going to go all gaga for him, she had better sense that that as she narrowed her eyes at him, sending him an icy stare instead of one of appreciation.

"Thank you," he said when she finally looked at him.

"For what?" she asked, thinking what in the world he would be thanking her for, after all she wasn't a model student by any stretch of the imagination.

"Raising your head up enough to look in my direction," he said taking a more closer look into her eyes now that she was near to him. "Just wanted to give you a little bit of information since you were apparently in la la land for the entire class and didn't pay any attention to a word that I said."

She was about to argue that she had paid attention to him, but she wasn't entirely sure he wouldn't call her on it either and for some reason she didn't want him to one up her again in such a short period of time. She wasn't used to professors treating her this way, most of them were pretty nice to her even if she was a snot to them considering she was John Black's step daughter, one of the richest men in Salem, and apparently Hotness hadn't got the memo about her family yet.

"I don't appreciate you sleeping in my class, it was rude and disrespectful, so please let's not have a repeat performance of this morning's class."

She couldn't help it, the look she shot him was one of pure dislike, how dare he tell her what she could and couldn't do. Who in the hell did he think he was? She was about to tell him off when she thought better of it, her parents would have a fit if she got kicked out of class the first day of school.

She didn't answer him; she was too busy thinking of nasty things to call him when his voice invaded her thoughts again, "Are we clear Ms. Brady?"

"Crystal," she answered stifling the urge to give him the finger and tell him to go to hell. God the English really were an arrogant lot she thought as she turned on her heel to leave his classroom.

He watched her go, trying his best not to laugh aloud as she stalked out of his classroom. At least he didn't have one female admirer in his class, he had noticed all the rest of the girls wouldn't quit staring at him, but apparently Ms. Brady couldn't stand the sight of him and that made him want to laugh all the more.

**_Change of Heart_**

**_Chapter 6_**

Finally she was back in her dorm room, her hair and skin still damp from her long hot shower as she fell into her bed not even bothering to put on any clothes, her robe was sufficient enough. Of course all thoughts of studying for her classes were completely forgotten as soon as she hit the softness of her fluffy comforter. All that mattered was getting some rest, the first day of classes had sucked big time right off the bat.

That was how Jamie found Sami later on during the day when she had returned from her classes and a rather lengthy stay in the library. Sami sprawled out on her bed, looking like she didn't have a care in the world beyond staying in her own dream world.

She shook her head, her best friend was snoozing away the afternoon and no doubt she'd be up later ready to go party some more, but this time Jamie was going to be strong against her friends persuasive techniques. She wasn't going to let Sami drag her to every little thing that she could come up with to get out of studying. No, this year she was going to show her roommate, she was going her own way, even if it made her best friend mad at her.

Sami was determined to party and Jamie was determined to get her degree. How they could be so different and get along with one another was a mystery to her as she looked at her sleeping roommate. Maybe this year Sami would want to study more, at least Jamie hoped she would.

EJ thought it had been a good first day overall after he tried to get more settled into his flat. He looked around the rooms, while it wasn't the most luxurious place he had ever stayed in, it wasn't the worst either. He just had to make do until he had his student loan debts repaid, he wasn't going to stick his mother and step father with the enormous amount he owed.

Sometimes he wondered about his real father, but he had learned over the years that it only would upset his mother if he asked her anything about him. Apparently the man had died right after he was born, and when EJ tried to gain information from her she would try to divert his attention to anything else besides the important questions of his parentage on his father's side.

He really didn't have a right to complain, Edmund was an exemplary father to him in every way, yet sometimes he still wondered about the man who was his real father. He had just bits and pieces of sketchy information from his mother and Edmund would only tell him he hadn't known his mother before she had come to England.

Still maybe coming to the states and living in one of the cities his mother had spoken briefly of being here for some amount of time, he may be able to find out something, anything would be better than the not knowing anything at all. That was it, the total lack of knowledge about his father was the worst, and it was like he was missing a huge piece of himself.

Well it looked like he would have time to research his mother's past, this wasn't something he was going to tell her, for his own personal well being he needed to know about his father and if she wasn't able or wouldn't divulge anything else to him about the man, he guessed he would find out about him on his own. It was good to have a goal in mind because as he stared at his laptop that was on his desk, he felt like he had hit another huge roadblock with his book.

He sat down at the desk, the blank page of the computer screen daunting him to write something, anything, but it was like he couldn't even form a coherent sentence. Why wouldn't the words come? He rubbed his temple as he fought against the discouragement that seemed to grow with each passing day. He needed to have something ready to send into the publisher by the end of December and he wasn't anywhere near where he needed to be to have his first draft ready to send off.

Then a strange thought occurred to him, maybe he needed to unlock his past to find out where he belonged in his future. He would start on his search tomorrow after his classes were over.

_Change of Heart_

_Chapter 7_

Sami was upset with Jamie; she couldn't believe she didn't want to go out with her. There would be some rocking parties to hit tonight as everyone who was anyone would be going out after the first day of classes was over.

"Well I guess I'm not anyone then," Jamie shrugged her shoulders as she reopened her book that Sami had closed while she was attempting to study for her Psychology class.

"Jamie, you are someone, I just don't want you to look back on your days at college and wish you had been more outgoing," Sami said in her most sincere voice that she could muster up in trying to convince Jamie that they needed to go out tonight.

"See that is where you are wrong Sami, I don't want to be outgoing, I want to get my degree so I can obtain a great job. I'm thinking about my future and my future does not want to be clouded by losing brain cells," Jamie picked up her highlighter pen and began to highlight some information she thought would be important to remember. Psychology was her intended major, she hoped one day she would be able to help people and this seemed to be the route to go for her.

"You can do both," Sami began again only to have Jamie shake her head at her.

"If I wanted to go out, I would Sami," Jamie said determinedly as she pushed up her glasses and returned to her book as if Sami hadn't uttered a word about going out tonight.

"You're going to miss out on all the fun," Sami said realizing she wasn't going to be able to convince Jamie to go tonight, now she would have to hang out with those stuck up girls instead and while she did fit in with them, she preferred Jamie's company much better. Jamie always had a way of making her see those girls attempts to capture the boy's attention was so overboard Sami would end up laughing along with her best friend instead of trying to flirt with the boys like she was known to do most of the time.

"Have a good time and please try to be quiet when you come in tonight. I'd like to get a decent night's sleep without having to be awakened with you singing your new favorite song or attempting to tell me about the latest hookups you found out about," Jamie said as she took a sip of her water before returning to studying.

"You are absolutely no fun at all," Sami claimed with a crestfallen look she was sure that would convince Jamie to come with her, but the look didn't even faze her.

"Another reason why you love me," was all Jamie would say as Sami stomped her foot in exasperation and headed out for the night, wishing her best friend would come with her and wondering why she wanted to stay in when there was so much fun to be had, they were only going to be young once.

The night was falling, he already had his lesson plans ready for the entire week and still nothing was coming to him for his next chapter. EJ looked over his outline for the book and gave a disgusted snort. It almost made him want to scrap the entire project and begin anew, but he had already invested too much time and effort into this piece to begin a different story. He was not one to give up; he had to see this through even if he wanted to scream out his frustration.

He went over and poured a drink, maybe he just needed to loosen up a bit, he had been stressed over the first day of classes and they had all went well with the exception of the gorgeous blonde in his first class who looked like she would have rather been anywhere but in his class.

What was her name again? Ms. Brady, Samantha was her first name, the one whom he had managed to anger when he asked her to stay for a few minutes after class today. She was going to be his challenge for this semester he could tell, with her lackadaisical attitude. Was it wrong of him to have enjoyed making her angry? He had loved how her eyes had flashed at him when he had called her out on her sleeping in his class. Well he guessed he would have to keep things a bit more interesting for her to stay awake.

He had heard one of the boys that sat in front on her call her Goldilocks right before he had gotten to her, not much went past him in class even though he had acted like he hadn't heard the boy trying to aggravate her. He bet the guy had a crush on her; she was a beautiful girl in her own right with that wavy blonde hair and those striking blue eyes.

He shook his head, why was the one student out of all of his classes who seemed to care the least about his class the one he was most interested in getting to know? Downing his drink, thinking he was getting a bit too philosophical just starting his teaching job. He doubted he would even worry about her as the week went on and he got to know the rest of his students better.

He guessed he had liked her brass, most students didn't come to class to sleep, they came to learn, but apparently she was the exception to the rule.

_Change of Heart _

_Chapter 8_

Sami wasn't going to admit it to Jamie, but she had missed her last night. The parties weren't nearly as much fun without her commentary on the festivities. At least this morning she was up, showered and ready to go unlike the previous morning when she had felt like three degrees of hell with her hangover.

Jamie remarked on how it was nice not to have to nag her to get out of bed and Sami pondered why she had even wanted to get up, she was sure it didn't have anything to do with wanting to be on time to Hotness' class. She just wasn't going to let him get the best of her like he did yesterday, she was determined to show him that she would be alert in his class even if the subject matter he taught clearly bored her to death.

So she made her way to class and even sat in front of the jocks this morning, opting not to be in the absolute back of the class while still staying far enough away from the front. She wanted to laugh out loud when she came into the room because even if she had wanted to be up front, there was not a seat left to be had. Apparently Dr. Wells' class was going to be one most of the girls fought over to see who would be able to obtain his attention because every last seat in the front was taken up by the girls who normally would have been content to sit in the back.

Sami even managed to look vaguely interested, until her mind began to wander off during class. Hotness apparently had no idea of his effect upon his female students as he walked amongst the room, extolling something or another about the virtues of literature. She couldn't believe how full of himself he was spouting off one thing after another and the looks upon her friends faces was enough to make her barf. Did they really think they were fooling anyone by their sudden interest in English Lit?

She just hoped she would get out of class soon before she felt the draw of wanting to go asleep again hit her. She was going to do her best to stay awake, but this class was so boring. She didn't understand all the hoopla she had heard the night before from the girls who were saying they were so lucky to have gotten into Dr. Wells class.

_"Isn't he the sexiest thing you have ever laid eyes on?"_

_"Oh my god, I thought I would die after he walked into class. That man is so hot!"_

_"His eyes are so dreamy; I could just stare into them all day."_

_"I love his accent! He could tell me anything and I would do it for him right then and there."_

_"Did you see his ass in those jeans he was wearing?"_

On and on they had went wherever Sami had gone, the talk somehow managed to get back around to Dr. Wells and his extraordinary class. She didn't think his class was extraordinary at all. In fact, she couldn't wait to get out of it as she thought about how shallow these girls were, they weren't interested in his class no more than she was, but to hear them go on and on answering his questions he gave to the class, you would think they all wanted to be English majors.

So lost in thought about the ever growing number of hypocrites that seemed to be in their class Sami failed to notice that she had been called upon by none other than Hotness himself.

"What are your thoughts on the subject Samantha?" he asked instantly bringing her out of her daydreams.

She shook her head, wishing that she had sat in the back instead of the middle now that he had called her name even though she never went by Samantha, it was Sami to everyone. She had no clue about what he was talking about so she had to think fast, she didn't want him to make her look like a fool for a second day in a row.

"I don't go by Samantha," she said with a defiant gleam as she looked him directly in the eyes.

"That's your name, isn't it? Or at least it is what was listed on my roster for this class," he asked, trying not to smile because he knew she wasn't paying a speck of attention to the subject matter they were currently on in class.

"Everyone calls me Sami," she said matter of fact like it was something he should know about her.

"Not everyone apparently, I prefer to call you Samantha," he said in an authoritative voice, "now that we have that matter taken care of..."

"Did you not hear me? No one calls me Samantha," her face started to flush to a quaint shade of pink when Dr. Wells did not appear to care what anyone called her or not.

"Samantha," he began as if she had not even spoken about not being called by her given name, "I'm interested in what you think about the story you were required to read last night, not on whether or not I am going to call you by a nickname when your full name suits you so well. So let's hear what you think, shall we?"

Sami flushed to an even deeper shade of pink, she hadn't cracked open a single book last night much less read any passages, she didn't have a clue as to what they were talking about since she had been thinking of other things. She had to distract him away from her and prayed that one of the other girls who were smitten with the new professor would get her out of this jam; she didn't want to look like a fool in front of the entire class.

She could have almost kissed Brittney when she heard her blurt out, "Dr. Wells I think the author was trying to get the reader to see his point of view by…"

She closed her eyes and gave a silent thank you to the good Lord above for Brittney and her ass kissing ways as she rambled on and on because it had gotten her out of replying and the bell rang signaling that class was over before she could be put on the spot again by Dr. Wells.

She quickly grabbed her backpack determined not to have him speak to her again, thinking she was going to have to look over her syllabus sometime today and start reading even if it killed her.

EJ watched her leave the class, and almost called her back again, but he didn't because he was afraid he would laugh after seeing her close her eyes and say thank you to whatever power she believed in when Brittney had interrupted and began to speak her views. That girl was something else.

**_Change of Heart_**

_Chapter 9_

Jamie opened the door to her dorm room and almost fell out in disbelief. She was seeing something she hadn't ever truly witnessed before: Her roommate was actually studying at her desk. No, this couldn't be true; she had to be in the wrong room and even stepped back to make sure she had entered the correct room. She blinked her eyes and yes indeed; Sami was in fact reading a book.

Apparently the book seemed to hold her attention too since she didn't even look up from it to tell her best friend hello at least she didn't until she heard applause from her smart ass roommate.

Sami shot her a look, just daring her to say anything, only to have Jamie give her one of her goofy endearing smiles.

"I am so proud of you," Jamie started to gush as she threw her book bag down upon her bed and scrambled beside it, grabbing a decorative pillow and hugging it gently to her body.

"Let's don't go overboard," Sami cautioned Jamie. "All I am doing is reading my reading assignment so as not to get the hell embarrassed out of me in class tomorrow."

"So Dr. Wells has your number huh?" Jamie asked leaning precariously on her bed after she pulled out her Psychology book along with her trusty pink highlighter.

"How do you know it is ?" Sami narrowed her eyes at her best friend, really her only true friend that would tell her how things were; most of her other so called friends were only friends with her because her step father was filthy rich.

"Dr. Wells is the talk of the campus," Jamie said with a slight roll of her eyes.

"Since when do you know the talk of the campus?" Sami asked, Jamie was not one to gossip or take time to listen when other people were doing so unless it was Sami herself telling her the latest news that went around Salem University and before that when they were at Salem High.

"How can you not hear about him? Apparently he is stealing the hearts of all the young women that are lucky enough to be in his class," Jamie gave a half hearted sigh and put her hand to her breast in mocking fashion.

"He hasn't stolen mine," Sami made a gagging sound.

"Come on Sami, he is a hottie," Jamie said with a conviction that made Sami want to laugh out loud.

Surely her studious roommate was not fooled by the good looking man, yes you had to be blind not to see that he was quite nice looking, but really his attitude was nothing if not acerbic. "Jamie, don't let his good looks fool you, he isn't nice."

"Clearly you are in the minority in your way of thinking, all I have heard is Dr. Wells this and Dr. Well that amidst repeated exhalations of longing and admiration for the man who has taken over this campus like a whirlwind," Jamie stated wholeheartedly.

"More like a windbag," Sami huffed thinking she wasn't going to let him make fun of her again in his class. When and if he called on her again she was going to be prepared for whatever it was he asked. She wasn't going to let this green professor make a mockery of her, why he even refused to call her Sami when she insisted that was what she wanted to be called. What did he know about her, no one called her Samantha, no one, that was until Dr. Wells decided that he was going to call her by her given name, well she would show him tomorrow in class.

She just wouldn't answer him, not if he couldn't call her by the correct name or maybe she'd just call him by his given name instead of Dr. Wells. Yes, she would give him a taste of his own medicine. What was good for the goose was apparently good enough for the gander too.

Jamie just laughed seeing as Sami was in a mood with just the mention of the good looking professor, why if she didn't know better she'd think Sami actually cared about what Dr. Wells thought of her, then she shrugged thinking she was just imagining things. Sami never cared what anyone thought of her, she made her own rules up as she went.

Her best friend was a force to be reckoned with most times, one Dr. Wells would soon see if he didn't throw Sami out of his class before the semester was over.

_Change of Heart__**  
><strong>__Chapter 10_

_One week later…_

Sami was more than ready to take on stuffy Dr. Wells even though she thought to herself that eight in the morning was way too early to have to endure any college class much less one as boring as English Lit. She made her way into class, thankful she sat in the middle section, and god forbid she get into the rush to be in the front.

Oh my goodness, could Tori make her already indecently short skirt ride up any farther? Sami bet she wasn't even wearing any underwear in hopes that Dr. Wells would take a look to see her snatch. That was beyond tacky; seriously didn't any of these girls have any pride? Just because their teacher looked like he could be on a pirate ship instead of teaching in a classroom, did they really all have to be so obvious?

Sami was proud she hadn't fallen prey to the wave of puerile madness that was striking the campus concerning her English professor. While she had been known to wear her skirts a tad too short, any she had previously worn couldn't even compare to the skimpiest scrap of material that Tori was wearing.

She shook her head, and headed directly in front of Alan; while he wasn't in her close circle of friends she did tolerate him for Lucas' sake. And really the only reason she tolerated Lucas much was because Jamie was so infatuated with him. Honestly she couldn't see what her friend saw in Lucas, most times he was drunk and he wasn't much taller than Sami herself and she was closer to being on the petite side on the height scale.

Now Dr. Wells was another matter entirely when it came to height, why he towered over all the jocks in the class and when he was wearing those dark grey trousers it was hard not to see what all the fuss over him was about, but still she kept her resistance up to his charms. No way was she going to be all agog over the man, especially a man who insisted on so much reading and homework outside of the classroom.

Didn't the man have a social life? Well these insidious assignments were driving her up the wall not to mention her free time in which she could be socializing on campus. Why she'd even had to write a paper this past weekend when she clearly had wanted to be at the football game and after party instead.

Blah, blah, blah his class droned on while Sami thought of the injustices of studying and writing papers. When was she going to have time to work on her designs if she had to read and write all the freaking time? Guess Mr. You Won't Have a Life Outside of my Class was handing back out the papers, well at least she knew she would get a good grade on this essay, she always got great grades from all her teachers. Last year she never got anything below an A- and she didn't even have to study one tiny bit.

She sat there waiting for him to give her the paper knowing full well none of the professors ever gave her a bad grade, really she didn't even know why she was worried about it. Everyone knew who her step father was and they made sure she wasn't given any bad grades because of it.

It was a simple fact, money talked and bullshit walked. She chuckled to herself thinking she just cracked herself up sometimes with her witty humor. That was until she saw the grade on her paper.

It was an F. Yep; there it was in bright boldness, the first failing grade she had ever received. Why surely she must have received the wrong paper. Sami Brady never got an F, not matter how poorly she performed on a test or in class. It just didn't happen.

She looked at her paper, surely all those red marks were not meant for her. This was completely unacceptable. Who in the hell did Dr. Wells think he was kidding? She wasn't going to stand for this kind of treatment at all.

She was going to let him have it as soon as class was over, no doubt about it.

EJ had to keep from laughing, he knew as soon as he had handed Ms. Brady her paper that the poor girl was in shock. Why you would think she had never gotten a failing grade before, but he wasn't in the mood to pass spoiled children who didn't seem to give two flips about their assignments.

Really he'd had a lot of failing grades, why most of these students didn't even seem to have a grasp on proper English. LOL did not constitute a phrase in literature, but many of his students apparently thought it did since they had incorporated it along with other slang into their papers.

Hopefully more would try to work on their papers next time instead of partying which sadly looked like it was the norm for this particular institute of learning.

It was all Sami could do to keep from outwardly fuming; her parents would have a fit if she failed any of her classes. Eric never had a problem with his grades or getting along with his teachers, Sami always felt like the outcast of her family. All the overachievers made things pretty intimidating. Why wouldn't her family just let her go to New York? All she wanted to do was design clothes, not writing stupid English essays.

Finally the bell rung, she was close to shaking, but instead of rushing to be the first one out the classroom door she stayed in her seat, still looking at the marks on her paper with the glaring red F emblazoned right on top. Everyone eventually filed out of the classroom most talking and laughing a few lagging behind, but then they were all gone on to their next classes except for her.

EJ wondered what Ms. Brady was thinking, he had noticed how flushed her face had become when he had dropped her paper on her desk. Surely she had not thought she had done a good job on her paper why it had been obvious she hadn't put much time or effort into her work.

Luckily he didn't have another class for three hours, but he needed to go over some things before his next class, a few papers he needed to finish up grading that he hadn't gotten to the night before.

The girl still hadn't moved from her seat.

"Ms. Brady, while I am surprised you weren't in the mad dash for the door like you usually are everyday to exit my classroom, I fail to see why you are lingering on today."

She arose from her desk, those dark blue eyes looking like a raging stormy sea as she approached his desk, flinging her paper back on his desk.

"You failed me," Sami stated matter of fact.

"Wow you are an observant girl and all this time I thought you weren't quite with it," EJ pushed the paper right back to the edge of his desk expecting her to pick it up and leave.

Sami wasn't going to give him to satisfaction of seeing her stomp off; no she was going to tell him exactly what she thought of his moronic class. "Do you have any clue as to who I am?"

"A girl who doesn't put much time into her class work or care much about learning anything beyond those insipid fashion magazines she sneaks into my class to read? While I am sure the latest fall trends are completely fascinating, don't you think you should try to challenge yourself just a bit more?"

"This remark coming from such a prissy man," Sami rolled her eyes in derision. Why he really was full of himself. She was smart, and here he was acting all superior to her.

"Prissy? Seriously?" EJ stood up and went to shut the door, no one needed to hear this little hissy fit Ms. Brady was getting ready to throw. He came back to his desk and sat on the edge of it, crossing his long legs trying to figure out where this outburst from coming from other than the girl being angry from failing her essay.

"You are so full of yourself, with your witty remarks and wisecracks. I bet you rehearse them all night by your lonesome thinking of ways to antagonize your students."

"If I am alone at night it is by choice, not from lack of women trying to capture my attention," EJ gave it right back to her even though that clearly wasn't any of her business to know.

"Oh so you have noticed all the lovesick looks from these idiot girls?"

"Looking at your grades in my class if I were you I might be slightly hesitant to call anyone an idiot," EJ remarked offhandedly ready to dismiss her, while he enjoyed seeing her stand up to him, he wasn't going to put up with her antics.

She was so ready to stamp her foot and call him an ass, but something in his eyes stopped her. She sensed this was one teacher who wasn't going to put up with any of her crap.

"I am smart," she insisted softly, tearing her eyes away from his, she didn't like him always getting the best of her, why she never had anyone to stand up to her beyond Jamie calling her on her behavior.

"Well start acting like you give a damn about school instead of floating in here and wishing you were anywhere else but my class. I don't pass students just because I like them; they have to earn their grades. Sorry to answer your question before, I don't know who your father is or care. What you make in my class is what you put into it. I think you are bright, you just don't seem to want to put any effort into trying."

"You don't like me anyway, so why should I try?" She raised her head back to meet his unwavering gaze.

"I do like you Samantha."

She snorted her disbelief in answer to his remark.

"I do, I admire your spunk, but the only way you are going to pass this class is if you work at it. Come to class prepared; be ready to put your two cents into the class discussions instead of hoping someone else rescues you when you don't have a flipping clue as to what I am asking you in the first place. Just try, don't go through life wishing it away; make a difference instead."

She sighed, thinking if he only knew her family he would see how difficult it was to compete with all the greatness they oozed without much effort on their parts at all.

"Will you let me redo my essay?"

"Are you going to try this time, maybe put more than a whole thirty minutes into it?"

"Forty-five," she quipped trying not to smile as she took the paper back from where she had flung it at his desk a few minutes earlier.

"See you tomorrow Samantha," EJ said as she reached the door, stopping in her tracks when she heard him call her the name she insisted that no one called her.

"It's Sami," she reminded him.

"You're much too complicated for such a simple name, I prefer Samantha."

"You think I'm complicated?" she asked thinking most people never contemplated much about her beyond trying to get rid of her presence.

"I know it," EJ smiled as she headed out the door, silently wishing to himself that he wasn't her teacher because she was the only woman who had captivated his full attention since he had arrived in Salem. Too bad they were in an unbridgeable chasm, no way could he risk losing his job just because this blonde imp of a girl had somehow managed to make him want more from her than what he could be and that was her English professor.

_**Change of Heart**_

_**Chapter 11**_

Once again Jamie almost was tempted to check and see if she was in the correct dorm room, surely her roommate wasn't sitting at her desk with not one, but multiple books cracked open. She shook her head thinking she must be in one of those old freaky episodes of the television series _The Twilight Zone. _Her best friend just didn't get so absorbed in her homework that shefailed to even acknowledge when someone entered the room.

Slinging her backpack down on the floor must have caused enough racket to break Sami out of her reverie. She looked up at Jamie with a harried look; one pencil even sticking behind her ear while another was poised at what looked like might soon become another scrap of crumpled paper that was quickly littering up the floor beside her desk.

"Don't say it," Sami warned sensing Jamie was about to burst out in laughter.

"Say what?" Jamie raised one eyebrow in Sami's direction.

"That you can't believe I am studying again," Sami replied wanting nothing more than to trash this entire paper, nothing was coming out the way she envisioned it in her mind. She still couldn't believe she had gotten a failing grade from Dr. Wells.

"Sami, I know this may come as a shock to you, but most people consider studying a very integral part of college, especially if they want to pass their classes and have a decent GPA." Sometimes it really was quite funny that her roommate didn't think those kind of things were important, then again she wasn't on a academic scholarship that could be taken away from her if she didn't keep her grades up like Jamie was on to go to Salem U.

"Ha, ha, very funny," Sami shook her head wishing she was just naturally smart like Jamie, it all seem to come so easily for her.

"Not trying to be funny, just pointing out that you have to put some time and effort into your work if you want to succeed," Jamie wondered why she was even telling Sami this bit of information because she was sure it was going to go into one ear and out of the other.

"My god, you sound about as stuffy as Dr. Wells," Sami began to mimic his English accent recalling their conversation that had this morning after she had received the failing grade on her paper. "Come prepared to class. You have to earn your grade. You get out of the class what you put into it."

Jamie just couldn't help it anymore along with Sami's bad attempt at a English accent she knew if her best friend would only heed Dr. Wells's advice she might learn a thing or two from his English Lit class. Her laughter finally erupted going from a slight giggle to a full outburst.

Sami took the pencil that was secured behind her ear and threw it in Jamie's direction, hitting her mark when Jamie stopped laughing.

"I'm sorry Sami, but if you could only see your face and your attempt to mock Dr. Wells is so off," Jamie retrieved the pencil after it bounced off her and landed into the floor, preparing to throw it back at her if she decided to lob off another round of pencils in her direction.

"You're right I'd have to be so much more uptight to properly manage it," Sami sighed wishing she could get this paper written, why her outline wasn't even close enough for her to begin typing it on her laptop.

"You think Dr. Wells is uptight?" Jamie asked not really seeing it from what she had noticed about the striking professor in her few observations of him from around campus. Plus every other single female she knew seem to think he was absolutely fantastic didn't jibe with Sami's pessimistic view of the most talked about professor.

Sami rolled her eyes, it was apparent she didn't understand, none of them did, this man wasn't perfection, he was just a man who was arrogant and haughty, why he even made fun of them in class although most of the students didn't seem to catch on to his thinly veiled sarcasm when he directed at them.

"Jamie you aren't falling for that accent, are you?"

Jamie walked over to Sami and proceeded to pluck off her glasses, holding them up to the light as she acted like she was examining them. She then proceeded to take the bottom of her t-shirt and wipe both lenses of the glasses. Holding them back up again to the light she shook her head, "I can't figure it out, your prescription seems to be in order, but maybe you need to get your eyes checked again. In case you haven't noticed Dr. Wells is the hottest thing to grace our campus, he makes all the boys seem like well boys."

Sami snorted her displeasure, even her best friend thought the man who was the bane of her existence to be hot. "He's old Jamie that is why he makes the boys appear younger."

"You know he isn't much older than us," Jamie began only to have Sami hold up her hand to stop her best friend from continuing on with this crazy observation of Dr. Wells.

"He is ancient," Sami claimed thinking Dr. Wells did make the boys seem very immature when he was in their presence although she wasn't going to admit it even to Jamie.

"Twenty-five is not ancient," Jamie argued thinking how cool it would be to have a mature twenty-five year old be interested in her, but who was she kidding she couldn't even get any of the boys to look her way beyond her being Sami's best friend.

"How do you know he is twenty-five?" Sami asked thinking every female in the radius of five miles must be hallucinating, they couldn't possibly know or even care to know how old Dr. Wells was, and he was a professor, not one of their classmates.

"You know Brittney works in the admissions office part time," Jamie stated as Sami shrugged her shoulders in indifference. "Well she was interested in learning more about Dr. Wells and so she snuck into the personnel records to find out his personal information."

"Brittney has and always will be a liar, I bet she was just telling that tale to get attention like she always does," Sami didn't even want to know anything about Dr. Wells personal or otherwise, he was a huge pain in the ass, case closed.

"Okay if you aren't interested I thought you might want to know his first name," Jamie started to turn away, knowing if she knew something that Sami did not know it would bug her friend to no end.

"He is so presumptuous he only listed Dr. Wells on the class syllabus like anyone cares what he name is I bet it is some incredibly English prissy name like Rupert or Nigel." Sami couldn't believe she and Jamie were even wasting time on this matter; she needed to get this stupid paper finished so that she might be able to go to the toga party Sigma Nu was throwing tonight.

"It's EJ," Jamie sighed before adding "don't you think that is mysterious? Brittney said it was only his initials, nothing more. I wonder what the EJ stands for, isn't it quite intriguing?"

"Believe me I won't be staying up all night trying to figure it out," Sami shook her head, even her best friend was interested in Dr. Wells and Jamie was a smart girl, Sami thought she would the last person to have her head turned by a handsome face.

"I might, if only some of the guys on campus were half as interesting," Jamie flopped onto her bed staring up at her Johnny Depp posters, thinking Dr. Wells came in a close second to her man Johnny which was quite a feat in itself since she has been enamored of Johnny since she was thirteen years old.

"Not you too Jamie, please you don't even have him for class," Sami pointed out only to have Jamie give her a sweet smile.

"I know but he came by the library today while I was working at the front desk and he was so incredibly nice to me. I almost forgot to speak to him when he addressed me until he asked me about the location of history books concerning Salem and of course I knew exactly where to show him to go." Jamie continued smiling and then proceeded to get up to go to her desk, she needed to start studying for her Psychology test she had tomorrow.

"You would know where everything was located in the library," Sami quipped sarcastically although Jamie failed to notice as she opened her book along with her notes.

"I hope he comes by more often when I am working, you know he even thanked me for sending him off in the right direction," Jamie sighed once more recalling Dr. Wells accent, he simply was dreamy.

There would be no arguing with Jamie on this matter Sami realized as Jamie quickly turned her attention to her books, completely ignoring Sami being in the room once she started studying.

"Great, just great," Sami muttered under her breath, now even her level headed best friend thought Dr. Wells was the next best thing to sliced bread. She scowled returning her attention back to her paper wishing ill on the man who was cutting into so much of her free time and garnering all the girls' hearts too in the process.

Well she wasn't a fool like the rest of them, they were all crazy. Dr. Wells wasn't anything special, she was sure of it.

_**Change of Heart**_

_**Chapter 12**_

Sami was grouchy, she had missed the Sigma Nu toga party the night before because she couldn't get her paper finished on time and Jamie had suggested maybe since she had failed the first paper this second attempt should have a bit more effort put into it.

Jamie just didn't get it; Sami couldn't write and didn't really care if she could one way or the other. She wasn't into all that flowery poetry which had no bearing on the real world. She couldn't imagine feeling something so romantic for someone that it made you want to break out into prose singing their praises to the heavens above.

Thus, she was hard pressed to find any relevance for today's society in Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnet 43 to write her paper. Why she had scoffed over how Miss Browning had such sappy lines, she wouldn't ever want to write a poem about anyone, much less one spouting off how much she would love someone even more after death.

Really it was quite morbid, why would you hope God would allow you to love someone when you were six feet under? This was all a bunch of silly nonsense, no one believed in such bull. Sami hadn't ever felt even an inkling of emotion of love for another person. Sure she loved her family most times, but never had her heart felt like it would do somersaults just by being in another person's presence.

So she gave her point of view that this was all a bunch of foolishness along with a thinly veiled description of how this class seemed to have no purpose beyond boring someone to the point of tears. She was honest because by god no one else of the female persuasion was going to tell Dr. Wells the truth, no they were just going to write bs over how poetry brought some kind of meaning to all mankind.

She shook her head wearily; these ass kissers in her class were becoming more obvious in their stupid obsession with Dr. Wells with each passing day. She noticed how Britney and Tori especially were made up each morning like they were going to freaking photo shoot at Basic Black. Her sister Carrie would have some stiff competition if they kept this act up.

Why even the most reserved girls seemed to be making an extra effort to get Dr. Wells to notice them, whether by their outrageous outfits, hair styles or makeup. These girls seemed not to have an ounce of pride or common sense, Dr. Wells was out of their league intellectually and professionally and personally she couldn't fathom why they would even strive to get his attention.

Her one saving grace was at least that wanna be Nicole Walker wasn't in this class with her. No, luckily Sami had been blessed by not seeing much of her beyond the harpy trying to hang all over her brother Eric whenever she got within twenty feet of him. Her twin could have his pick of any of the girls on campus yet he seemed to be enamored by that cheap gold digger.

Trying to dismiss thoughts over how she believed her twin was going to throw away his entire future if he kept dating that ho Nicole she took her seat in the middle of the class. Unlike the other girls she did not want to bring any sort of attention to herself, all she wanted to do was turn in her paper and get a decent grade since Dr. Wells wasn't going to do her any favors like her other professors seemed to do in regards to her grades.

All she wanted to do was be a fashion designer, to make her mark in the fashion world. She knew she could do it if she was only given a chance; she had a good eye and attention to detail. She did have to give Dr. Wells one thing, he knew how to wear his clothes well which could prove to be a challenge for someone of his height.

What he was wearing today was nice, the black pants he wore hung well on his frame, and she liked how he wasn't afraid to wear dress shirts of a lighter color with matching ties. So far she had liked most of his outfits that he had worn to teach class; then again he was from England and what she wouldn't give to see the rest of his closet. The interest was purely from a fashion standpoint she reasoned to herself while she thought she could probably design some really cool stuff for him to wear.

Taking out her new Apple iPhone 4G to snap a quick pic of his outfit something she could go back to later when she was in a drawing mood to make some sketches of men's clothes. While Dr. Wells bored her immensely with his talk about literature, she did think he could make a passable male model.

She was holding up her phone taking the pic of him while he had his back to her, she didn't want him to know what she was doing. She was so caught up in her mission for fashion that she didn't notice when Tori looked back at her with narrowed eyes. Then Tori dropped her English textbook to the floor causing a crash which in turn made Dr. Wells turn around at first looking toward the noise and then before Sami knew it he was at her desk and he certainly didn't look too happy to see her today.

"Miss Brady, what do you think you are doing?" EJ snatched her new phone from her hands before she could hide it in her backpack.

"Uh, I was just…" Sami's voiced trailed off not wanting to tell Dr. Wells anything, much less tell the members of her class about her dreams of becoming a fashion designer. She was sure they would all laugh their asses off over that one and not believe a word she said to Dr. Wells anyway.

"Just what?" EJ asked as he took her phone and proceeded to take it back to his desk, immediately opening his desk drawer and dropping it in with a resounding thud.

"Nothing," Sami muttered thinking Dr. Wells probably thought she was as silly as the rest of these girls in her class. Her face flushed with embarrassment as the class erupted in laughter. She sunk down in her seat wishing the floor would open up and swallow her whole.

The rest of class seemed to crawl by for Sami, now she would be the laughingstock of the entire campus and damn Dr. Wells took up her brand new phone. No way would her parents get her another one after she had begged to get this one promising that she would take good care of the phone if they would get it for her.

Finally class was over and the students began to leave class. She lagged behind not wanting to hear their comments, plus she had to turn in her paper and hopefully get her phone back from Dr. Wells. When Tori realized Sami wasn't going to let her be the last one to leave class she gave her a hateful stare and stomped off in a huff needing to get to her next class before it began.

Sami walked slowly to Dr. Wells's desk gently laying her paper on it and hoping he would be gracious enough to give her the phone without her asking for it. No such luck though when he eyed her paper curiously and started to pick it up.

Oh god no, please don't let him read while I am standing here, Sami thought to herself especially after she had put in her comments about his class. He quickly scanned over the paper, not saying a word to her.

She took a deep breath, maybe he would cut her some slack this time, "Dr. Wells may I have my phone back?"

EJ shook his head, "No, you may not."

"Come on, it's a brand new phone," Sami couldn't help it somehow this professor seemed to make her say and do things she normally didn't do.

"If you want your phone back, you may pick it up this afternoon in my office around 5 p.m. when I am finished with my classes for the day, not a moment before," EJ replied watching her face immediately form into a scowl. This girl had some nerve that was for sure, and he guessed that he was going to teach her a lesson since apparently no one else did.

Sami turned on her heel, he was such an ass, but if she wanted her phone back she realized she would have to go to his office. She muttered what she thought of him under her breath and stormed out thinking 5 p.m. couldn't come soon enough, she was going to get her phone and then she would tell him he could go straight to hell.

EJ watched her go, wondering what kind of excuse this girl would come up with for him today. Well he had to give it to her; at least she made his morning class interesting because he never knew what she was going to say or do next.

_People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care-John C. Maxwell_

_**Change of Heart**_

_**Chapter 13**_

EJ had a very busy day, his classes were going well, better than well he admitted to himself, and the students seemed to be grasping the concept of how important literature was in the scheme of things. While he had been unsure of how his teaching methods would be received before he began classes at Salem University, it was apparent most students enjoyed his classes and were actually learning new things.

The operative word being most though as his thoughts turned back to Samantha Brady, the spitfire whom after reading her latest attempt of writing a paper was more than a bit direct in her views that she did not care for poetry and apparently him either. He could not figure out why she did not like him, why nearly all of the students were very engaging in class and yet this girl did not seem to share the majority's view of him at all.

It was almost 5 pm he noted as he had spoken with a few students this afternoon, many opted to seek his company in his office in the afternoon when he was finished with classes. More than a few bright eyed girls, wanting to garner his attention outside of class came with various excuses of supposedly needing his guidance of help. He was nice to them all, but tried to steer them from thinking they were anything more than what they were to him, his students. He was not interested in their thinly veiled offers of trying to entice him to notice them beyond the realms of the classroom.

He took off his jacket of his suit, placing it on the back of his chair and after sitting down he reached into the side pocket retrieving out the cell phone of Miss Brady. What had she been thinking taking pictures of his backside during class? This girl was a mystery to him, why would a student who apparently thought he was a bore want to take a picture of him anyway? It didn't make much sense to him, but he planned to find out.

She should be here in a few minutes, that is if she wanted her phone back. It was a very nice phone, the newest on the market and while he had no interest in this kind of technology he guessed if you were a college student this would be the phone to have if you could afford it. Since he had taken it up from her in class she'd had no chance to lock it so he was free to peruse its contents.

He had to admit some of the text messages she was receiving were pretty funny. He did not feel bad reading the texts, if she could invade his privacy then what was good for the goose was good for the gander. She had gotten a large amount of texts from what must be her best friend, a girl named Jamie, but she also was receiving some very explicit texts from some guys apparently wanting her to come to a party tonight.

While he was not much older than his students he thought their blatant overtures of sexuality were quite vivid. He shook his head, he didn't need to even go there. He shouldn't care what this girl did in her free time. What he needed was to work on his novel, which he would do tonight after he got this meeting over.

The closer Sami got to Dr. Wells office the slower her steps became, this day had been one she didn't care to relive. Her so called friends had given her hell for the most part, laughing over the fact that Dr. Wells had confiscated her cell phone and many asking her why she was taking pics in his class.

She had kept quiet, not answering their questions, really how could she explain what she had done? All she had wanted was to make some sketches for her designs, ones no one had ever seen beyond Jamie. Her family thinking her drawings were just a passing fancy, they didn't take the time to delve into what or why she was drawing.

So she was not in the mood to face the reason for her embarrassment this afternoon. She had dreaded this meeting all the day, hoping by some small chance that maybe when she did have to go face him that he would just give her back her phone. She really didn't want to explain to him why she was once again not paying attention in class, not to mention what she imagined he would say about her paper.

She should have just written some kind of bullshit, she could do that if she had to, but she felt that if everyone else thought Dr. Wells was so great than her opinion of poetry and in turn his class would not matter much. She had reached the door, poised to knock even though it was opened enough for her to peak into his office and when she did she immediately saw red.

The man was looking at her phone, her cell phone and shaking his head. What in the hell did he think he was doing? So before being polite and knocking she barged into his office ready to give him a piece of her mind. He may have taken up her phone, but Dr. Wells was crossing a line and she was going to let him know it.

_**Change of Heart**_

_**Chapter 14**_

_People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care-John C. Maxwell_

"What in the hell do you think you are doing?" Sami asked sharply, she was irate to the point of shaking when she realized he was accessing her phone.

"Excuse me?" EJ raised his head up to take in account that a very upset Miss Brady had stormed into his office instead of coming into their scheduled meeting like a civilized human being.

Sami marched straight to his desk, standing as tall as she could since she knew this would be the only way she was taller than him was to catch him while he was sitting down, "I can't believe you are invading my privacy this way! How dare you sit there and go through my phone!"

"Would you rather I stand?" EJ scooted his chair back far enough to gain his balance to stand up against this brash imp of a girl. "As for the privacy issue, I wouldn't even have your cell phone right now if you hadn't of invading my privacy this morning during class!"

"Give me my phone," Sami demanded holding her hand out for EJ to give her back her cell phone.

"No," EJ shook his head and held the phone away from her grasp.

"You are unbelievable! You have no right to keep my phone!" Sami stood on her tiptoes trying to get close enough to yank it from Dr. Wells, but there was no way her petite frame could reach past his outstretched arm.

"I have every right, especially when you were taking pictures of my backside during class! You want to speak of privacy; well you my young girl have most definitely crossed a line by your actions. If I so choose you will be expelled from my class and may even go before the disciplinary board for review as to whether or not you should even be allowed to attend this college!" While EJ hadn't been mad when she had barged into his office now he was as equally angered by her lack of respect and issuing of demands towards him.

"I am not your young girl!" Sami stomped her foot wishing she could just kick this jackass in the shins or even better in the nuts so that she could laugh over his subjected affliction, of course after retrieving her cell phone while she envisioned him howling on the floor writhing in pain.

"Believe me if you were you would know something of manners and respect. Maybe if your parents had taught you any type of etiquette and civility I wouldn't have had to take up your precious phone," EJ held it out looking back at the screen once more after he went back to the photo section where the pictures Sami had taken of him this morning presided.

"Don't you criticize my parents," Sami warned, her anger rising with him even more. She did have manners and while she didn't feel much respect for Dr. Wells she knew how to behave it was just that sometimes she didn't feel like behaving and following the rules of society. "If you mess with me, they'll have you out on your arrogant British ass."

"Before you begin issuing threats of me being subjected to getting fired you may be interested in my countering with considering filing a sexual harassment suit versus you, then we will let the chips fall where they may." EJ wasn't intimidated in the least by this girl. No way was she going to get the upper hand against him and she was a few bricks shy of a load if she thought she would get him fired from his teaching position.

"Sexual harassment, believe me I have no interest in you sexually or otherwise," Sami's hands itched to slap that smug look of his face. If only those foolish girls could see what he was really like they wouldn't be falling over each other every morning to garner his attention.

"Then why pray tell did you feel so inclined to take pictures of my ass then? Really Samantha if you give me a good explanation I'll think about giving you back your phone," EJ said thinking he needed to strike up some kind of bargain with the girl even though at the moment she had a slightly crazed look in her eyes. These American girls were a different breed that was to be sure.

"Why were you going through my phone? Were you reading my text messages?" Sami countered back; no way did she want to admit to him that she just wanted to sketch him for her designs.

EJ chuckled, "Very interesting reading material indeed. Oh the things you can learn about a person by the kinds of messages she receives."

"You don't know anything about me," Sami crossed her arms in front of her.

"Want to try me?" EJ settled back against his desk although he kept her cell phone firmly in his hand.

Sami didn't say anything, just kept giving him a death stare.

"Cat got your tongue Samantha?"

"I've told you not to call me by that name," Sami began to go off on him only to have EJ hold up his free hand against her.

"You tell me lots of things, you just don't realize it," EJ shook his head; this girl was no match for him even though she believed she could best him.

"I do not," Sami argued he didn't know anything about her.

"Your writing tells me differently," EJ stated matter of fact.

"What are you babbling about?" All she wanted was her phone and here he was making her want to cause him bodily harm to his person. She never imagined English Lit was going to be such a huge pain in the ass. She was going to drop this class first thing in the morning that is if her advisor Mr. Brock would even consider her plea to be free from the egomaniac professor.

"For starters how about there is nothing significant or of any value to taking English Literature?" EJ asked the question which he had taken straight from her paper she had turned into him this morning after everything had turned to hell in a hand basket for her.

The frown on her face deepened a tiny bit more if that was possible, yet she still didn't say anything which only prodded EJ onward because by god the girl was going to tell him something or he would keep her here all night.

"And who could forget your complete and utter trashing of one of Miss Browning's most famous poems? Let me see you ripped her beautiful love poem to shreds with the stroke of your acid pen." EJ began to quote the first few lines of the poem to her just to make sure she got the point he was trying to make.

"_How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.  
>I love thee to the depth and breadth and height<br>My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight_"

She couldn't keep quiet she had to stop him from reciting the entire poem verbatim, "It's a stupid poem, love like that doesn't exist except maybe in some kind of fairy tale world which is all a bunch of crap."

Her words stopped him, how could she be so young and yet so very cynical? He cast his eyes upon her trying his best to figure out a way to reach her, the one girl who steadfastly refused to see the good in how fascinating the different facets of literature could be, it really blew his mind she was this jaded. He thought the other day after class they had made a breakthrough albeit it had been a small one, a breakthrough none the less. He really had believed he had gotten through to her that was until he had read her scathing paper.

Why wasn't he saying anything? He had an opinion on any and everything and for once she had stopped him cold. She felt his gaze upon her, but she didn't want to meet his eyes, he was trying to make her see things differently and she was fine with what she knew to be true. Love wasn't something grand, it was just an emotion people tried to use against you when you didn't follow exactly what they had in mind for you. Kisses were not magical and she doubted when the time came sex wouldn't be that awesome either.

"Nothing else to say your lordship?" Somehow she just couldn't help herself, this man brought out the worst in her nature and it bothered her because she didn't understand why.

He sighed, what was it with him and dramatic women? Then he corrected himself, she was a girl, his most aggravating student and he needed to show her a modicum of control, but he was determined to find out her reasoning for taking pictures of him without his knowledge.

"All I am asking for is a reason as to why you were taking my picture? We could have prevented all this if you would just tell me the truth."

She didn't want to reveal her dreams to anyone, much less this pretentious man standing before her.

"I'm waiting," his voice broke into her fears of revealing too much of herself to anyone, she didn't want his ridicule and she knew he was highly capable of that attribute.

She didn't want to be in here any longer and knew if she didn't answer him there was no way she was going to get back her cell phone. So with a deep breath, she quietly said, "I was taking pictures for my sketch book."

Her admission puzzled EJ, why would she want to sketch him, much less his backside? Still his curiosity was piqued and he wanted to know more. "Sketch book?"

"I sketch things for my fashion designs and I didn't want the entire class to laugh at me for having such an impossible dream. I mean my step father owns a design company called Basic Black and he won't even look at my designs. He thinks it is just some kind of passing fancy. So I take pics of different people and see what I can come up with in my mind designing clothes. Not that it is ever going to amount to anything. I can't even get my own foot in the door within my family's company." There she said it, now she hoped to god he would leave her the hell alone that is of course after he got finishing laughing at her.

To her surprise, no laughter came forth, and when she finally raised her eyes to meet him, there was a kindness in them, an understanding which seemed to speak directly to her. She wasn't used to having someone listen to her and not think she was just trying to get attention, he was taking her seriously.

"If you wanted to take my picture all you had to do was ask," EJ softly said handing her back her phone which now didn't seem like such a big deal to her.

"I'm sorry, it's just that no one knows I sketch things, I gave up trying to convince John to even consider looking over them. He thinks I'm just an unruly child for the most part. I couldn't admit to you in class what I was doing because then everyone would laugh at me. Who would ever believe Sami Brady had a serious side to her? All I am here in Salem is a rich girl who likes to party. That is why I want to leave this town and go to New York. Maybe one day someone will think I have what it takes to make it in the fashion world." Once she got started it all seemed to come to the surface, her insecurities, and she'd even revealed her dream to the last person on earth she would have believed would want to know or care.

"I believe in you," came the reply from EJ which caused Sami to give him a look of disbelief. No one took her seriously, not even Jamie who knew the truth really truly believed she was going to be a fashion designer.

"Really?" She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, trying to gauge if he was being genuine or not.

"How about we call a truce? You give me a chance to prove to you that literature can have some meaning in your life and I'll try not to be so quick to judge your actions. From this moment on I will make an effort to give you the benefit of the doubt before I jump to conclusions. Maybe one day you can show me your sketches, I really would like to see them."

He put out his hand offering to shake on it. Sami considered the possibility, could she willingly let someone view her work with what she knew would be a critical eye? One thing she knew from Dr. Wells so far was that he was quick to point out the truth of things even when she didn't want to hear it.

"Truce," she agreed, guessing she wouldn't be trying to drop his class tomorrow after all. Maybe for once she had truly found someone who saw something beyond the façade she used on the world.

Tentatively she held out her hand to reach his, maybe he did believe in her. When their hands touched, their eyes met again, something fluttered in her heart, a strange sensation she couldn't ever recall feeling before and she quickly withdrew her hand before she made a complete fool of herself.

"Goodnight Dr. Wells," was all she said as she put her cell phone into her pocket and hurriedly went out the door not wanting to look like one of those lovesick girls from class.

"Goodnight Miss Brady," EJ said watching her retreating figure exit his office. He stood there wondering if she had felt an inkling of what he had felt when their hands had innocently touched one another sealing their truce. While his head was screaming for him to steer clear of this girl, his heart was telling him something entirely different and that thought clearly worried him.

**Excerpt of Sonnet 43 - How do I love thee? Let me count the ways ****by Elizabeth Barrett Browning**

_**Change of Heart**_

_**Chapter 15**_

_**Great Expectations**_

The next day in class Sami was ready for anything Dr. Wells decided to throw at her, but surprisingly he did not pick on her. For some strange reason he seemed to be trying his best to avoid her or at least that was she thought when all during the class he never seemed to look her way or even once call on her for her opinion in class.

He seemed preoccupied or maybe it was just her imagination running wild again. After she had gotten back to her dorm room she hadn't even had a desire to go out last night even when her brother Eric had invited her to go with him and a few of his friends. Sami had declined knowing if Eric was going either Nicole would be with him or somehow, someway she would casually bump into them acting all surprised to see them.

Sami didn't like Nicole and she wondered what Eric saw in the girl. She was mean and cruel even if Eric failed to notice those attributes about her personality. Sami rolled her eyes, all Eric was noticing was the way Nicole wore that skimpy cheerleading suit to the football and basketball games. Most of the cheerleaders were either stuck on their self or big time ho's for the jocks, Nicole of course falling into both categories easily.

She was glad she hadn't gone out even if it had shocked Jamie, but Sami was going to try to better with school work, maybe even work hard enough to get good grades on her own instead of trying to scare the professors into passing her. God knew one professor was not going to be swayed by her tactics, Dr. Wells had shown her that last night during their confrontation and now he knew her secret.

What if he told anyone? She thought to herself, she would indeed wind up as the laughingstock of the sophomore class at Salem U. and she sure didn't want that to happen. No way did she want the likes of Tori, Brittney and god forbid Nicole to find out her passion for fashion design. They would laugh her out of Salem U and she just couldn't handle the cheerleaders mocking her especially since her sister Carrie was one of the co-captains on the squad.

It was bad enough Carrie was beautiful and she even got to model for Basic Black while Sami wasn't allowed to have any input in the company. Eric was using his photography skills learning the trade, but all John had offered for her to do in his company was work in the freaking mail room. So dutifully all during the summer she had patiently worked shuttling files, folders and papers to the employees of the company, but never once did John allow her into the design rooms. It just wasn't fair at all.

She shook her head she needed to quit daydreaming in class or Dr. Wells was sure to call on her, but even when she pulled her head out of her family unfairness musings he never once called on her, just keep reciting different poems for some strange reason today. He never looked her way, not even once and that was strange because somehow he always seemed to catch her when she was not paying attention.

She sighed quietly, thinking what was wrong with her. She didn't want or need his attention, then the thought occurred to her he probably thought she was crazy for dreaming of becoming a fashion designer and was only trying to be kind enough not to encourage her any more than he already had the previous night.

She eyed him curiously trying to will him to look her way, to no avail. He was engrossed in his poetry and practically all the girls in the class looked to be to the point of swooning and now that she thought about it some of the guys did too. It was too creepy; it was like Dr. Wells was possessed with that sexy voice and when he used it he could capture everyone's attention.

Well except hers, she reminded herself trying her best not to be drawn in by his voice while he recited the poems aloud and his voice was not sexy, it was just vastly different from what she was used to hearing that was all. She needed to quit thinking about him, he wasn't truly interested in her at all, he was interested in this poetry junk, something which failed to fascinate her or so she told herself looking around the class noting most if not all eyes were turned on him while he spoke.

Then the bell rung and even when she filed out of class walking behind Alan and Derek, he never even glanced her way or called her out. It puzzled her, yet she was not going to admit it to him or anyone else. She hadn't wanted his attention and now he wasn't giving any to her. She should be happy, it seemed like he was finally going to leave her alone for a change.

Damn, why wouldn't he look her way?

Well EJ thought to himself, he had made it through the class without once taking in her visage. Miss Brady had looked quite fetching this morning too, especially when she came into class smiling instead of the perpetual frown she usually wore as soon as she walked into his classroom. She was lovely and that thought had stopped him cold before he ever acknowledged her.

When she had left his office the night before he had stayed there for a while, after the brief touch of their hands he had tried to assess the feelings that had assailed him. He had felt such an instant connection to her in those few seconds it had literally scared him. He wasn't supposed to have any kind of feelings for his students beyond teaching them and helping them try to succeed in life.

No when their hands had touched he had wanted something entirely different from Miss Brady and it wasn't teaching her the finer points of the English language. Just a simple innocent touch from her and it had knocked him for a loop. He wasn't supposed to get involved personally with any of his students beyond an academic level, he knew it and yet somehow when she turned those stunning blue eyes his way it made him want to learn more and more about her.

He needed to steer clear of the girl and he would try his best to do so in the future. Even if all the while he had spoken words of love of longing with the poems he had chosen to recite this morning in class somehow he thought of how wonderful it would be if he could speak those words to her and her alone.

He shook his head, what he needed was some grown up companionship, maybe he would go with some of the professors when they went out again. He had been invited more than once, but he had declined each invitation thinking he would work on his book, but maybe he needed a change of pace, anything to get his mind off of Miss Brady because she was beginning to come into his thoughts more and more with each passing day.

And that wouldn't do, not at all.

Later on in the day Sami was sitting outside actually reading one of the books on the Literature assignment list thinking that she may was well bite the bullet and plunge into reading the book. She wasn't going to let Dr. Wells give her a hard time about not reading and she knew reading the Cliff Notes wouldn't work with him. He'd want something more than a mere synopsis. So she grudgingly opened the book thinking maybe being outside she wouldn't be as apt to drift off to sleep like she may be tempted if she read in her dorm room.

She was engrossed in her book to the point she failed to notice Austin slipping up behind her, enveloping her eyes with his hands before whispering, "Guess who?"

Sami knew instantly who, she could smell his cologne, it wasn't over powering but she could identify it as being one of the test men colognes Carrie had begged John to let her give Austin for his birthday. Plus she would know his voice from anywhere, because his was the voice of her dreams and had been for quite some time.

She toyed with him, "Noah?"

"Guess again."

"Alan?"

"O for two, guess again."

"Lucas?" she teased knowing instantly Austin would reveal himself to her, he never wanted to be confused for his half-brother.

"Three strikes you're out," Austin moved his hands away and settled next to her on the grass.

"Austin I never would have guessed it was you," Sami smiled her entire face lighting up since she hardly ever had the chance to speak with him alone. His was the face of all her schoolgirl fantasies of having a real life boyfriend, but he only had eyes for Carrie, the beautiful one, never her.

"You just don't ever think of me anymore," Austin sighed and grabbed her book away from her grasp.

"That's not true, you never come around anymore or if you do Carrie steers you clear away from me," Sami stated trying not to sound jealous, she knew Austin was never going to be interested in her, not the way she had been in him.

"She thinks you have a crush on me," Austin grinned with the grin that Sami used to dream about, but Carrie had made sure she knew he didn't think of her in any capacity beyond being her bratty younger sister.

"All the girls have crushes on you, you're the quarterback of the football team," Sami said placing a hand on over her heart trying to sound like one of the cheerleaders.

"Yeah right, I have them lined up around the block," Austin quipped thinking how pretty Sami had become over the past year, gone was the baby fat she had and somehow when he had least expected it she was growing up in more ways than one because it had been ages since she had tried her best to get him alone, something she had been notorious of before in years past even up until the end of her freshman year in college.

"What have I got something on my face?" Sami instantly reached thinking the worse that she had a coffee mustache or something even worse when Austin stopped her hand and pulled it back.

"No, it's just that you seem different," Austin looked at her curiously, trying to peg exactly was had changed about her. It was almost like she was over him; she didn't have that starry look in her eyes when he looked at her.

"I don't know what you mean," Sami replied, thinking it was a nice change to be sitting here and not have some kind of agenda in the back of her mind concerning Austin, for once she wasn't hoping he would kiss her or tell her that he and Carrie had broken up and he had decided she was the one for him all along.

Austin shook his head, maybe he was tired, and he had endured a grueling football practice earlier this afternoon. Just something was off with Sami and he couldn't place what it was yet. He was about to say something else to her about it when a shadow fell over them both.

They looked up together to see who was blocking the sun to be met with the menacing stare of Carrie, standing before them both with her hands on her hips.

"Sami what are you up to now?" Carrie asked her voice icy in regards to her sister.

Sami glanced at Austin and raised her brow immediately going on the defensive, "Nothing, I was just…"

Carrie cut her off before she could say anything else, "Trying to entice my boyfriend to break up with me again?"

"No!" Sami held up the book she had been reading to her sister. "I was reading this book for my Literature assignment when Austin came over."

Carried burst out with a sharp laugh, "Yeah right and I'm a virgin. No way in hell are you reading anything for class, you never study."

"We all know better than that one, don't we Carrie?" Sami tossed the book down and stood up ready to jack her sister's jaw. No matter what she did Carrie always thought the worse of her.

"Girls please, there is no need for this," Austin began only to be told by both sisters simultaneously to shut up.

"You'll do anything for attention won't you Sami?" Carrie dropped her book bag ready to strike her sister.

"You are the one who is such a drama queen, seriously all I was doing was reading when Austin came up and sat down to talk to me," Sami stressed and then rolled her head ready to defend herself because for once she wasn't trying to snag Austin or entrap him and it irritated her that Carrie always jumped to conclusions whenever it came to her.

Maybe she should pick up the book and knock it over Carrie's head, with any luck it would knock some sense into her or in the very least it would black her eye and mess up her next photo shoot she had scheduled for Basic Black. She bent down and grabbed the book ready to smack her down and before she could swing it in her direction, Dr. Wells walked up to the group his eyes curious and before he knew it Miss Samantha Brady smacked him right upside his head.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Change of Heart__  
><em>_Chapter 16__  
><em>**

**_**_Author's note: I do not own Days of our Lives, the characters Ryan Gray & Lindsey Davenport are my own creation._**_**

Coach Ryan Gray sat at his desk, staring miserably at the sheet before his eyes. Damn six of his starting offensive line and seven of his defensive line were failing. This just couldn't be happening especially when they were just starting the season. He had to convince the Dean Elliot to give his boys just a little more time to pull up their grades.

What had brought about this sudden shift of balance in the way things were being run here at Salem University? His boys were supposed to untouchable, he needed each and every one of them playing and not on academic probation. Hell if they had any chance of defeating Piedmont College next week he had to have all of his starting line players eligible to play.

This was just unacceptable, no freaking way was he going to bench these boys if he did they were doomed, absolutely doomed. He picked up his cell phone and called the one number of the person he knew who could help him figure out how to make sense of this mess.

Lindsey Davenport was in the middle of leading cheerleading practice and she was in a foul mood. The entire squad was looking sloppy. Even the simple round offs were pitiful and it made her cringe to see the new dance routine the squad was trying to perfect.

Was the entire squad hung-over? They probably were Lindsey thought grimly especially when she spied Nicole wobbling a bit while being a base for the cradle they were trying to perform. Oh my god they were about the drop Caitlyn and if they did none of them would ever hear the end of it. She reached for her whistle and blew it loudly causing everyone to stop midstride and almost making Caitlyn fall anyway.

"Nicole why are you looking like you are going to fall out during the stunt? Do you want to run poles until you puke?" When Nicole looked down at the ground and failed to answer, Lindsey posed another question to her. "Do you want to make everyone run them?"

All eyes on the squad turned to Nicole narrowing because none of them wanted to be running in the hot sun especially since most of them had been partying until the wee hours late last night. Nicole gave them a weak smile, hoping she wasn't going to barf right out in front of everyone. She had drunk more than most of her fair share finishing off the entire bottle of Jose Cuervo and there was a bit of the night that was quite hazy in her memory.

Luckily before Nicole had to come up with some plausible excuse for her performance today at cheerleading practice Lindsey felt her phone vibrating in the pocket of her track suit. Angrily she reached for it answering with a growl, "What?"

"Now is that any way to answer your phone Lindsey?" Ryan asked imaging Lindsey must be pissed at the squad for something they had messed up during practice for her to answer so curtly, usually she was grouchy but right now she was sounding borderline bitchy.

Lindsey put her hand over the phone, "Practice is over guys and let me tell you one thing if you all come in here like a rag tag bunch of carnies when it's closing time at the carnival, you will all be running until you either fallout from heat exhaustion or your tossing your cookies in the trash cans."

She turned around not even looking at them and walked away dismissing them without a further thought, "I was in the middle of practice."

"From the sound of your voice it doesn't sound like it was going well," Ryan started to chuckle only to have Lindsey threaten to hang up on him. "Look I need you to get over to my office. I think we have a problem on our hands."

Lindsey rolled her eyes thinking if what Ryan had to say was anything remotely worse than this practice she was going to need to go get a massage when this day was over. Yes, a massage might be the only thing worth doing to try and salvage this somewhat crappy day.

On her way over to speak with Ryan as she was walking toward the gym she noticed something very peculiar. Well at least now she knew where her head cheerleader had been instead of being at practice. Apparently Carrie was in the middle of what looked like a three ring circus.

From her vantage point Lindsey could make out Carrie and her sister Sami in what looked to be a massive argument which was nothing new considering how the entire campus knew the sisters did not get along with each other at all, but the most interesting thing about the encounter was seeing Austin standing to the side of the girls who looked as if they were about to have a knock down drag out with one another only to have that new sexy professor Dr. Wells get caught in the crossfire.

It was actually quite funny Lindsey thought slowing down her fast pace to watch this scene unfold before her eyes as a crowd started to gather around  
>the Brady sisters, especially after Dr. Wells had gotten the brunt of Sami's anger taking the hit of a huge Literature book upon his face.<p>

It wasn't that Dr. Wells was smacked down by the book rather the look upon Sami's face. She absolutely looked mortified even from Lindsey's place where she stood away from them. She shrugged her shoulders knowing she needed to get to the gym to talk to Ryan. She'd deal with Carrie later to see what kind of excuse she would give her for skipping cheerleading practice.

So making her way to the gym was top priority and she barely could hear Sami trying to apologize to Dr. Wells for hitting him with the book, yet she turned back for a minute to catch a somewhat interesting gesture between teacher and student. Dr. Wells took Sami by her hands and said something to her which Lindsey couldn't hear but seemed to instantly calm her down before he shook his head and left the group standing there.

She noticed one other thing though, apparently the younger of the Brady girls had to be growing a conscience because she immediately followed Dr. Wells leaving her sister fuming after she departed.

Lindsey rushed to the gym, she had wasted time by stopping to see what the commotion was and she was curious over what Ryan had wanted from her anyway. It had been a while since they had been an item so any time Ryan wanted her to see him she gladly went to him.

"What took you so long?" Ryan asked his mood a dark one Lindsey surmised as soon as she entered the room, one that was line with various trophies of past winning season of Salem U's football program.

"I don't need an inquisition from you about my timely arrival. You are lucky I even came to see you especially since now you are a married man," Lindsey tried to keep the hurt out of her voice, but sometimes it slipped in to their conversations without her fully realizing it.

Ryan rolled his eyes, Lindsey had been fun, more than fun most times, but when it came time to marry he had wanted someone less volatile, he never knew what to expect from Lindsey so when Charlotte came into this life while she was quite predictable at least he knew she wouldn't cause a scandal or a ruckus to bring about damage to his aspirations of becoming athletic director of Salem U when Tim Hills retired next year.

He decided not to argue with Lindsey, it might make him want to do other things to her instead of just talk and while Charlotte was kind of boring she was sweet and kind and he didn't need to take advantage of her goodness by hooking up with Lindsey. He motioned for her to sit which she did and he pushed over the paper he had been looking over for the past hour to see what she thought.

"You are so screwed," Lindsey commented as she looked over the list of his failing football players.

"Tell me about it," Ryan agreed wishing it wasn't so, he needed all those players and his second string couldn't pull off a win against Piedmont if most of his best players were benched.

"Why are you showing me this?" Lindsey asked thinking there wasn't anything she could do about many of his players on his team being below average in intelligence.

"You've got to help me convince the dean not to bench my players. Lindsey we'll get our asses kicked on Saturday if I don't have these players playing," Ryan leaned back in his chair giving her what he hoped was his best pleading look, one that always used to win her over to his way of thinking during the time they were seeing one another.

"Ryan there is no way in hell I am going to cozy up to that old leech for you," Lindsey did a slight shiver, just thinking about the possibility of trying to convince Dean Elliot not to bench the guys was enough to give her the willies.

"Come on Lindsey, I need your help," Ryan used his voice trying to sway her when she looked into his eyes.

"No, you find some other way," Lindsey shook her head at him.

"The majority of them are in that new pansy English professor's class," Ryan said with disdain in his voice. New professors were the worst thinking they were doing the right thing by failing the students if they weren't passing. Some of his best players couldn't write a comprehensive paper, but that was beside the point, he needed them on the football field.

"Professor Wells isn't a pansy," Lindsey remarked thinking he was fine, very fine indeed even if he didn't have bulky muscles like the ones Ryan had on his physique.

"Don't tell me you think he is hot too," Ryan rolled his eyes at Lindsey. "That's all I hear when I go into the canteen or the chow hall, these female students are all whacked."

"Jealous are you?" Lindsey asked wondering if she should try to get to know Dr. Wells better if her being friends with him would get Ryan's attention.

"Look I just need for someone to persuade him to give my players some slack," Ryan began only to stop when he saw Lindsey's eyes light up at the suggestion.

"I might do it, I mean he is good looking," Lindsey began thinking that this might not be a bad thing after all. If she couldn't have Ryan maybe she could have some fun with this new English professor.

"Lindsey, all I need is to find a way to help him realize some leniency concerning grades for my players would be beneficial to us all, nothing more," Ryan said thinking he may have unleashed something more by asking his former lover to help him.

"I think this may be your lucky day Ryan," Lindsey got up from her chair smiling thinking this might be one fun assignment for her. After all she didn't have anything to lose and plenty to gain if she captured the attention of that hot Brit. "I'll call you later and let you know how it goes."

With that she was up and gone before Ryan could say anything else to her, leaving him to hope she could find a way to get his players reinstated before Saturday or he really was screwed.


	3. Chapter 3

Change of Heart**  
><strong>Chapter 17

Oh my god, she'd just smacked Dr. Wells upside the head with what else her literature book and from the looks of things she'd hit him pretty hard. Well in all honesty she had meant to hit her bratty older sister Carrie in the head and it wouldn't have bothered her one bit if she had knocked her out cold.

Attempting to knock out said professor was another story entirely. One she wasn't readily looking forward to after seeing the shock on his face when the book had made direct contact with him.

Mortified didn't even begin to cover it, Sami morosely thought as Carrie began to shriek in that annoyingly loud cheerleading voice of hers which seem to draw a crowd of epic proportions to the spot where they were standing. Well all of them were standing with the exception of Dr. Wells and he was looking kind of shaky as he held his hand out to the tree to steady himself.

"Oh my god, Professor Wells, I didn't mean to…"

"Act like a complete idiot which isn't a stretch for you by any means," Carrie interjected snarkily before Sami could even properly apologize to the man who somehow always seemed to catch her off guard, now though it was even occurring outside of the classroom.

"Carrie, Sami didn't mean to," Austin began only to have Carrie cut him off before he could defend Sami.

"Didn't mean to almost hit me? Oh yes she did and poor Dr. Wells caught the brunt of her anger instead of me," Carrie turned to Dr. Wells instantly changing her voice to one of concern. "Dr. Wells are you all right? I'm so sorry my sister is such a bi…"

"I'm quite all right," EJ stated before Carrie could finish her thought about her sister. He guessed Samantha had been correct, her family wasn't all that is was cracked up to be especially when you got close enough to see them interact with one another.

"Carrie, let's go," Austin put a firm hand on her arm, trying his best to diffuse the situation between the two sisters. He had on several occasions been the catalyst of such catfights between them and this wasn't something he wanted the entire campus to be talking about, but he was sure it was going to be a hot topic of conversation no matter what he tried to do to stop them from trying to tear each other apart.

"Austin, don't tell me what to do," Carrie's voice warned him, but he grabbed her arm a little bit tighter for her to see he meant business too and for her to leave with him now. She looked from Austin, to Dr. Wells, to lastly Sami giving her a look of pure contempt. She gave a sound of disgust and looked evilly at her younger sister before adding, "We'll finish this later Sami."

Sami rolled her eyes, she wasn't scared of Carrie in the least, and she was only mad she hadn't knocked her out and hit Dr. Wells by accident. What was it with this man? It was like he had the uncanny sense to be around when it was the absolute worst light for her to be shown in, the more embarrassing for her with each new incident that occurred.

It also didn't help that the crowd didn't seem to want to dissipate until Carrie stalked off, with an angry looking Austin quickly following behind her. Slowly they began to walk off even though many seemed curious as to what Dr. Wells would do to Sami for the smack down she had given him from her book.

Sami looked to the ground and then back to him, she had to apologize, she felt so bad that he had got caught in the cross fire of one of her many notorious fights with her sister, although she bet this was going to go down as one of the top ten, probably even break into the top five if all the gossips at school had their say about the matter.

EJ could sense her discomfort and tried to make a joke of it all, maybe that would lighten the mood, "Well Samantha maybe I'll try this in class. Do you think it might be a new way to produce osmosis of the subject?"

He guessed it wasn't as funny of a quip as he imagined when she burst out in tears right in front of him.

"Samantha, please don't cry, it was just an accident, a silly misunderstanding," EJ offered up not wanting to see those beautiful blue eyes of her fill with tears, especially not from something he said to her.

Sami shook her head, he was too kind to her, he was trying to make her laugh when it was so embarrassing to have him witness firsthand how dysfunctional her family was, and her sister Carrie was nothing short of a bitch. She took a deep breath; she wasn't going to cry in front of him again, she bet he thought she was a complete idiot especially after this latest episode.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit you," Sami said quietly, hoping he would accept her apology and she could slink off into some far corner of the campus where everyone would leave her the hell alone.

"I know you didn't," EJ said wishing she would look at him, so he reached out for her arm to get her attention because he couldn't take her hand in front of everyone, then there really would be talk on the campus that neither one of them could afford to be linked together. "How about we take a walk? Steer clear of these gawkers for a while, maybe by tomorrow they'll find something new to talk about instead of you and your sister fighting."

"Our fights are legendary," Sami commented as she reached to pick up her book bag accepting the book she had hit him with from Dr. Wells and placing it back into her book bag thinking this is what happens when you try to study.

Thus one more important factor to go into her pros and cons of studying to recite to Jamie, so far it looked like studying was losing out again.

Note to self, Sami thought, do not study outdoors ever again. In doing so, disaster may occur.

Then again, it wasn't all bad Dr. Wells was encouraging her to ignore all the surprised stares as they walked away together. Maybe he wasn't so lame after all.


	4. Chapter 4

Change of Heart **  
><strong>Chapter 18

They walked in silence for a while as they tried to get past all the students who were staring at Sami like she was the most interesting person on campus at the moment, which she might be considering that by the time her sister Carrie told the story to her sorority sisters, not to mention the entire cheerleading squad everything would all be turned around to how horribly Sami treated her sister. Sami sighed; she never caught a break when it came to Carrie, the beautiful sister, the popular one, the wonder child at home.

"You know it isn't the end of the world," EJ noted as they walked further away from the scene of the fight.

"Just wait until I hear the lecture from my mother," Sami's brow creased into a frown as she began to mimic in her mother's tone of voice. "Sami you know better than to aggravate your sister. Sami why do you always want to cause a scene? Sami why can't you be more agreeable like your sister Carrie?"

"I take that it's hard to live in your sister's shadow?" EJ posed the statement as a question.

"That's an understatement of epic proportions," Sami answered wryly. "I mean look at her, Carrie is the face of Basic Black, the president of Kappa Delta sorority and co-captain of the cheerleading squad and I'm just, just…"

"A bright and unique young woman, who is just as pretty as her sister if not more because you my dear have something which is…"

"A big mouth apparently," Sami interjected doubting anyone could see any redeeming qualities in her when put beside her older and far more popular sister.

"Well that part may be true," EJ gave her a smile and a wink and before Sami knew it she had punched him on his shoulder in reprisal to his comment and then her eyes widened.

"Sorry Dr. Wells, I didn't mean to hit you again," Sami shook her head, for a moment she had forgotten he was her teacher and just a friend instead that she was venting to about her frustrations where her sister was concerned.

"Samantha, you know I'm not made of glass," EJ remarked as he stopped walking and reached for her arm to face him. "I won't break if you hit me and besides I think I may have deserved it this time for trying to tease you. I just want you to know that I think you're spectacular in your own right. You don't have to convince me that you are worthy of my time or attention."

Sami looked at him like he had lost his mind, which apparently he had because almost everyone with the exception of maybe Jamie enjoyed being around Carrie more than her. She was used to it, coming in way behind her sister; Carrie was the shining star whereas she was just Sami.

EJ looked at the doubt already clouding on her face, but if she could only see how amazing she looked in the fading light of the autumn afternoon with the sun shining through the brightly colored leaves of the maple trees she would be able to see what he saw, a young woman who was absolutely stunning. It was almost like she ignited his muse and it made him want to go back to his flat and write on his novel because he now knew what direction he wanted to take his story in and that was a heady feeling for him especially since he had been stuck for months on what he needed to write.

"Dr. Wells are you all right?" Sami asked when he had stopped from walking with her and was staring into her face.

Instead of answering her he reached out to tuck back a stray piece of hair that had fallen then it felt like her heart was beating rapidly just by the sheer intensity of his stare, he retracted his hand almost reluctantly from her face.

He was about to answer Sami when from out of nowhere the shrill voice of Lindsey Davenport broke in calling to EJ from a few feet away as she made her way to them pausing briefly to give them both a strange look when she finally reached up to them.

"Hi," Lindsey began even though it was apparent neither EJ nor Sami were acknowledging her presence at first. "Am I interrupting something?"

EJ shook his head, making sure to step back away from Sami so as not to give Lindsey the wrong impression which he thought she might have from the question she posed to both of them. "No, of course not, Samantha and I were just…"

"Talking about the paper he instructed the class to write this week," Sami interjected when EJ seemed to be at a loss for words which really appeared to be a first for him.

"Oh, that's all?" Lindsey pushed her way to stand between them addressing Sami with almost a sneer, "Having trouble in class and needing some pointers from the teacher?"

"Nothing of the sort Miss Davenport," EJ hated the look that arose on Sami's face as soon as Lindsey had began talking to them.

Lindsey pressed her hand to EJ's chest and laughed somewhat falsely, "Call me Lindsey. There is no need for us to be so formal with each other. We are colleagues after all."

"Sure," EJ agreed somewhat warily, wishing Lindsey would go on and leave them alone, but apparently his wishes weren't going to come true.

"Great then EJ, I wanted to see if you were interested in joining some of us tonight for dinner and drinks. I know you told us before you've been busy, but you need to go out with us and make some friends your own age," Lindsay went on talking to him as if Sami wasn't even standing next to them.

"Well I was hoping to go to my flat and write some this evening," EJ admitted hoping Lindsey would take the hint that he wasn't interested without being rude, yet this bit of information didn't deter her in the least.

"You can do that later," Lindsey wrapped her arm in his and proceeded to walk away with him, leaving Sami to stand there all alone.

"But I was speaking with Samantha," EJ stopped mid-stride looking back to Sami in hopes she would say something to keep him from going with Lindsey.

Sami gave him an understanding smile, "It's all right Dr. Wells. I was just going to go work on those suggestions you gave me for my paper. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

"See Sami needs to go study," Lindsey echoed and pulled on EJ's arm again so that they would continue walking with one another.

EJ gave Sami one last look back before Lindsey began talking non-stop and they walked away from where she was standing. Sami watched them go, pretending it didn't bother her that he was walking away with that skanky ho of a teacher. She rolled her eyes as she tugged on her backpack, situating it so that she could carry it better.

She turned to go back to the dorms, but only after she took another glance in their direction. For the first time Sami wished she was older and more sophisticated because if she was maybe Dr. Wells would be interested in her instead of Lindsey Davenport.

She shrugged thinking she was an idiot for even wishing such things, but it had been nice walking and talking with him after the fiasco with Carrie and Austin earlier. She needed to get a grip on things because Dr. Wells wasn't interested in her as a woman; she was just another student in his class that was all, nothing more.

The sooner she got the hell out of Salem the better he life would be. Well that and passing English Lit would be good, but she doubted either one of those things were going to happen anytime in the near future. Sometimes life just sucked, it truly did.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Change of Heart  
>Chapter 19<strong>_

The closer Sami got to her dorm the worse she felt, it seemed like even when she was trying to be good, actually give an honest attempt at studying and for once not having an ulterior motive where Austin had been concerned, it all had gone wrong anyway.

Carrie and probably the rest of the campus would say before the night was over after the latest fight they had gotten into was that she was once again trying to garner Austin's attention which was the farthest thing from the truth. She could finally admit without a doubt in her mind that she was really and truly over her teenage girl infatuation with the boy who had been the only guy who had come close to what she had dreamed of being the one for her.

She shook her head, what a joke; there apparently was no one for her, the guys here at college she mainly considered to be only interested in hooking up with unsuspecting drunk girls and partying for the most part. Sure there were some serious types here too, but they didn't run in her circle of friends.

Then again with the exception of Jamie, who was her one true friend, everyone else kind of fell into the category of acquaintances. She guessed some of them could be considered as kind of being friends, but she knew when the chips were down the only person she could truly count on would be Jamie. She was the only one who actually believed she could be more and make something of her life.

Well Jamie and Dr. Wells believed in her, scratch that when had she even began to put what Dr. Wells thought about her in the same bracket together with what her best friend Jamie, knew about her? Before these past few days, she had despised Dr. Wells, the man who apparently had won the hearts of most of the females on campus. She had been determined not to fall prey to drinking the kool-aid like the rest of the wannabe's on this campus.

She wasn't a follower and sadly she wasn't a leader either, she was just a girl who apparently was a tad off her rocker because for just a moment there while she and Dr. Wells had been talking and walking together it had felt like they just clicked, like he got her and in some strange way she got him, that she was starting to see there was something beyond that arrogance in him that had goaded her into some of the most embarrassing situations she had ever been in a classroom and now starting to ebb over into her life outside of the classroom too.

Surely she wasn't even thinking of Dr. Wells as a man, well he was a man, a very hot man, but she needed to stop it. Dr. Wells was just being nice to her, he wasn't interested in her as a woman because in terms of her experience she definitely fell into the girl slot, why the only time she had vaguely felt something in a kiss was when she had gotten a few drunken kisses from Austin and those had only come after her countless schemes to get him alone and from the fallout of his numerous fights and breakups that he had with her sister Carrie.

No, guys liked Carrie, who even though she had dated Austin on and off for years was kind of slutty, she knew her sister had been with more guys than just Austin even if she would never admit it, why the only person who got less action than her was Jamie and that was only because Jamie was so shy around almost anyone, especially guys.

And men apparently liked women like Lindsey Davenport, whose reputation of being a wild one had been notorious around campus. How many times had she heard the guys talk about how they'd like to bang Lindsey because she was so sexy and confident? One too many for her liking and now that it looked like she was sinking her claws into Dr. Wells, Sami was sure he would fall for her and more than likely they would become an item.

Why should she care who Dr. Wells hooked up with? It wasn't like it was any of her concern, but she'd be lying to herself because when Lindsey had come right up to them during the middle of their conversation and captivated Dr. Wells attention it had bothered her. Lindsey had totally dismissed her like she was some kind of kid who had no business talking to Dr. Wells and promptly linked her arm in his and walked off with him, leaving her standing there alone like some kind of lovesick fool wishing after a man who had no interest in her at all.

She was such an idiot, she couldn't even call him by his first name so why would she even entertain the thought that Dr. Wells or rather EJ would even find anything remotely interesting about her as someone outside of his classroom. Lindsey was in the major leagues of women and here she was a girl who'd only been kissed a few times because frankly she had been scared to let herself go with anyone beyond the realms of a kiss.

She was just a scared little girl, no way did she ever have a chance with EJ and then it hit her because she was thinking of him in terms of a man instead of a teacher. Oh my god, she actually liked EJ, all this time she had been proclaiming she couldn't stand him she had been trying to hide the growing interest she had in him. She thought back to the times he had called her out in class and then when he had told her he really thought she had it in her to be more than the persona she presented to the world she had fell for it, hook, line and sinker.

She couldn't ever let him know she liked him, she wasn't going to be a Brittney, Candice or Tori, those girls had been trying since the first day of class to get his attention and worse yet she knew they were all in a race to see if anyone of them could get him in bed with them. She wasn't naïve even if she was a virgin, those girls had a better chance of getting with him than she did and she doubted that trio would get a shot at Dr. Wells.

No apparently Lindsey had set her sights on him and with a sinking heart, Sami knew she would get him too and that bothered her even more than she cared to admit. She was almost to her dorm and had been prepared to spend the evening studying instead of going out and partying, but with her head clouded with visions of Lindsey and her grubby hands all over Dr. Wells she made a decision that she needed to forget all about this foolish idea of liking a man who would never see her as more than a girl, a student who didn't even try in any of her classes to succeed.

She needed to be something other than a little girl who was afraid to let anyone get pass first base with her, she needed to grow up. So before she got any more depressed about her non love life, she'd make some changes starting tonight.

She wasn't going to study, she was going to party instead. Lucas had been begging her to go out with his fraternity brothers and had given her a fake id he'd had made for her a few weeks ago. She'd call him up and tell him she was ready to go to that bar the guys liked to frequent and she'd drink and dance and hopefully she'd forget all about Dr. Wells.

She wasn't going to make a fool of herself over him like she had with Austin for years. She wasn't going to be an object of hateful gossip and god forbid pity. The vicious names Carrie always called her resounded in her head, poor, pathetic Sami, never can or will get a man.

She shook her head, she'd show them all. She could be anything she wanted to be and tonight she'd be the girl they all wanted.

No, not a girl, she was going to be a woman, she could do it. She was tired of being pushed around by her sister, for once she was going to push beyond being a scared little girl, she could be like the rest of those girls, and she would.

It would all start tonight, Sami Brady was going to grow up.


	6. Chapter 6

**Change of Heart  
>Chapter 20<strong>

Lucas had been mildly surprised when he got the text from Sami stating that she wanted to go out and party with him and his fraternity brothers tonight. He'd been trying to get her to go out with him for weeks and yet she never caught onto his less than subtle hints.

Carrie had blown him off for the last time this past week. He was sick and tired of her teasing him or rather using him to get his older brother Austin jealous. Maybe it was high time for him to move on and what better revenge to get on Carrie than to begin dating Sami.

Even if Carrie claimed she only loved Austin she had slept with him time after time, especially whenever she and Austin were fighting or broke up. She told him he had to keep their trysts secret and he had so far, but she'd used him for the last time.

Maybe Sami would help him get over Carrie, she was funny and snarky and they had been friends ever since high school when he had transferred from Riverside Military Academy to Salem High. He needed a distraction and Sami could be that for him, plus she was pretty in her own right even though it was rumored she never gave it up for anyone.

Not that guys hadn't tried, but Sami never let herself get into a situation that she couldn't get out of, but tonight they would party and hopefully she'd give him a kiss or even something more if he pressed the issue. He'd get her enough drinks to get her in a good mood.

So Sami had no clue as of Lucas' true intentions when she got in the car with him and they headed out to Luna's the new nightclub that everyone was trying to sneak into because it was the place to be for anyone who was anyone. Or that was what Lucas was claiming as she took a beer from him in the car on the drive to the nightclub that was on the outskirts of town.

Sami hated that Jamie had refused to go with them, but she was determined to go out and try to get EJ off of her mind. It wasn't like he was thinking of her or anything anyway which only spurred her on to drink another beer and then another before they even made their way to the door of the club with their fake ids.

_

EJ tried his best to seem interested in what Lindsey was saying to him as they sat at a table together in what Lindsey claimed to be the coolest new bar in town. He took another sip of his beer and hoped he was giving the appearance of seeming to hang on her every word to him.

Frankly his mind was somewhere else as thoughts of another blonde haired vixen came into mind. He mentally scolded himself, he shouldn't be thinking about Samantha Brady, but with each sip of his beer he thought of her more and more, something that had been happening more frequently as he got to know her better with each passing day in class.

He must be barmy, he was a professor, and had the company of an extremely attractive woman with him who seemed more than a tad bit interested in him if the signals she was giving out were any indication; but sadly he wasn't slightly attracted to her at all. No he wanted the girl who had managed to get under his skin from the first moment he had laid eyes on her in his classroom.

He must be a lunatic to even entertain such ideas of a girl who managed to get a rise out of him by her sarcastic comments and lackadaisical attitude in his classroom. No, he'd redouble his efforts to pay attention to what Lindsey was talking about although she seemed to have no problem with talking non-stop to him while he quietly drank.

Then all of the sudden out of nowhere she appeared, the girl who had begun to haunt his dreams and kick start his muse whom he had thought had abandoned him lately. He shook his head; he must be seeing things because this was a bar which had stated in the entrance way no admittance to anyone under 21 years of age.

The girl walking into the bar wasn't 21, nor was she of legal drinking age, yet she seemed to have consumed some alcoholic beverages somewhere because she was singing slightly off key over the din of noise that was playing in the bar and dancing some kind of bizarre dance with a group of guys some of whom were definitely failing his English Lit class.

He must be seeing things, surely Samantha wasn't here with a bunch of guys and now they had left the dance floor apparently to chug some beer which she seemed to be doing like a pro with a chorus of the guys cheering her on. He watched her finish off her mug of beer and signal for another one.

He wanted to go over there and ask her what did she think she was doing, but he couldn't cause a scene and then luckily some other professors joined he and Lindsey so if he needed to go he wouldn't feel beholden to take Lindsey home since they had met each other at the bar after she had begged him to go with her and some of her friends. At first he had thought it had all been a ploy, but at least some more people were here even though if they spotted the underage partiers they might get into trouble at school.

Which was all he was trying to help Samantha avoid, she didn't need trouble at school if her parents were on her like she had mentioned earlier this afternoon always taking her older sister's side of things. So when he saw her leave the group to apparently go to the loo, he made his way over to casually bump into her without it seeming like he was stalking her.

Which he totally wasn't because technically he had come here first and he was old enough to be here and she wasn't so…

She was dancing and humming or singing a snippet of something that was now playing in the ever increasing crowded bar and never even saw him coming while she sang with an elevated voice.

_Everything you want so let me get up there  
>I'm the baddest baby in the atmosphere<br>Tell me what you want so we can do just what you like_

_Ooh  
>Everything you know I'm flipping upside down<br>Take you 'round the world  
>You know I like it loud<br>Tell me what you want 'cause we can do just what you like_

_You make me feel that  
>La la la la la<br>You make me feel so  
>La la la la la<em>

One La la la too many and she crashed right into him, causing him to try to right her before she fell in the floor in a heap at his feet. Which she almost did as her drunken laughter continued that was until she saw who she had just run into.

Surely she couldn't be falling down drunk in front of Dr. Wells, no EJ which she almost called him if she hadn't been struck dumb over the sight of him here at the bar with his hands trying to steady her. She tried to crane her neck around to see if anyone had seen her crash into him, but apparently no one in the bar was paying attention to them.

"Samantha," EJ said as he tried to distance himself from her, but she was unsteady on her feet and when he moved she went with him.

"Dr. Wells," Samantha blushed even though it was quite dark in the bar.

"I think you can call me EJ seeing as how we keep running into one another all of the time or at least you can call me that when we are out of the classroom."

"Yeah that might not be appropriate for English Lit." Sami stated all the while trying to keep from falling but she had drank quite a lot of beer in the past few hours and even though he didn't know it she was trying to not think of him and of course in doing so she would run into him.

"What are you doing here? I know you're underage."

"Aren't I always?" she muttered, but then her smartass attitude hit her since it angered her that he didn't consider her old enough to be here even if she technically wasn't of age. "What are you going to do, call the police and report me?"

"No, but you shouldn't be here drinking with that group of guys."

"You're getting close to sounding like a parent instead of a friend," she blurted out before she thought better of it.

Well at least she was considering him her friend which was a vast improvement from her disliking him as a teacher and a person.

"Well as your friend you need to be a bit more choosy with your drinking companions."

Sami snorted, "This coming from the guy who is here with one of the biggest whores to ever grace Salem University."

Apparently he wasn't the only one a bit jealous then even though he knew he couldn't take things further with her.

They stared at each other both trying to decide what they needed to do since both thought the other shouldn't be there with who they came to the bar with tonight. Before they could say anything else though there was a loud noise that suddenly made Sami look completely panic stricken.

"Salem PD!" Roman Brady's voice boomed loud and clear over the ruckus in the bar as various police officers milled in behind him.

"Oh my god, you've got to hide me," Sami said as she ducked down behind EJ, hoping her father hadn't seen her.

When he seemed reluctant to do said hiding of her person she whispered, "That's my daddy, the police commissioner and my uncle Bo is right behind him and dear god I think my aunt Hope is with them too."

EJ turned around to face Samantha again. He didn't want her to get arrested, much less be humiliated by being here by her family and before he could decide how to keep from that happening all of the sudden he felt her drag him to a darkened corner of the bar and then she did something he never in a million years would have expected from her.

She linked her arms around his neck to kiss him and without a second's hesitation on his part he pulled her up closer to him to deepen the kiss. It felt like everything disappeared for those few seconds her lips were upon his and then she wrenched away from him, motioning to the back exit with the insistent tug of her hand within his hand.

He told himself it was just a distraction she had employed so that she wouldn't get caught, they had to look like a couple who had wanted to leave without being too conspicuous, but for that brief moment in time he had felt the world open up and shift beneath his feet.

What was he going to do with her? She was drunk and needed to get as far away from here without being detected by her family. So he did what he thought was best, he'd put her in his car, drive away and hopefully by the time they were close to Salem University she would be sober enough to go into her dorm.

Well at least that is what he knew should happen, he didn't need to take her to his flat.

He only hoped his plan would work as he prayed she would sober up quickly as he got her into his car and pulled out of the parking lot leaving the sea of blue lights from the police cars behind as he drove them both away from Luna's.

**You Make Me Feel song lyrics by Cobra Starship**


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's note: Just wanted to thank everyone for the comments you have given for Change of Heart and for your patience in waiting for a new chapter. Hopefully this long chapter makes up for the wait. Please continue to let me know what you think about the story. Things are starting to heat up in more ways than one for Sami and EJ. I won't say anything else and just let you read for yourself._

_Much peace and love to you all._

_Karen_

**Change of Heart**

**Chapter 21**

"Damn it," Lucas muttered under his breath as he tried desperately to find a way out of the bar when the cops had busted in waving their badges and ordering everyone not to leave the premises until further notice. A thought of panic rushed through him, not only for his own self, but where in the world was Sami? One moment she had been chugging beer with them in a contest as to who could drink the most and the next she had disappeared in the crowd, claiming she needed to go to the restroom and then she'd be right back to pick up where she left off drinking.

He craned his head trying to get a glimpse of her with hopes of them escaping before her father found them here. Roman would be so pissed if he realized he was the one who had brought her to the club. No matter that he was only a month shy of turning twenty-one himself, he knew Roman Brady well enough that he would arrest him for trying to pass off the fake id's they had used to get into the bar, plus the added fact of the underage drinking wouldn't go over well with the police commissioner at all.

"Buddy you better get out of here before they make their way over to you and bust your drunk ass," Alan clamped a hand on Lucas' shoulder trying to make his friend see the need to flee out of here while he could before he was caught by the police. While he was twenty-one and had no worries over being of age Lucas Roberts was a different story entirely.

Luckily the lights of the bar were not yet turned on although they probably would be in a few seconds if the booming voices of the angry Salem PD were any indication.

"Alan, I know I need to get out of here, but I've got to find Sami first. I brought her with me tonight and I just can't bail on her." Lucas got on his tiptoes trying to see if he could find her, but it was like she had disappeared without a trace.

"I think she found another ride home in more ways than one," Alan's voice was thickly laden with innuendo.

"Sami isn't that kind of girl, you know that she doesn't give it up for anyone," Lucas responded back to his friend. While he might talk about other girls, he knew for sure Sami and her friend Jamie didn't sleep around with anyone.

"Then why was she kissing that pansy professor Dr. Wells then?" Alan asked in a nasty tone.

"Sami wouldn't kiss him, she can't stand him," Lucas replied trying his best to defend her because clearly Alan had drunk more than he thought if he was spouting off lies about Sami hooking up with Dr. Wells in the bar.

"Look I was on my way to the bathroom too, I needed to take a piss and I know what I saw…"

"Must have been some other blonde, I'm pretty sure I saw him talking with Lindsey at a table before the police bust," Lucas countered back to Alan, no way would Sami be kissing on the teacher who had been ragging on her since the first of the semester had begun.

Alan pivoted Lucas to the spot where Lindsay was sitting and sure enough she was there with some of the other professors from the college. Lucas was mystified; surely Alan was wrong about seeing Sami with Dr. Wells.

"Bet Sami is going to get a A for special favors while that prissy poetry spouting teacher fails the rest of us and we all get benched from playing football this season," Alan spat out viciously right before the lights turned on and then Lucas slumped slightly when he felt another hand on his shoulder, only this time it wasn't Alan.

It was Roman Brady and he sure didn't look to happy to see him at all.

Oh hell, he was busted for sure now.

~ Change of Heart ~

EJ drove away from the bar, glad he had been able to make his departure with Samantha without them being stopped. He doubted her father would believe he was doing anything remotely good in the best interests of his daughter because it would look like he had taken her to the bar instead of the boisterous group of boys she had been drinking and dancing with in the bar.

She was quiet, which was rather a first for her considering how they always managed to trade barbs with one another right off the bat.

"Samantha, are you all right?" EJ asked with concern in his voice turning his eyes to her momentarily instead of concentrating on the road ahead of him.

She shook her head slightly to indicate no before she put a hand to her mouth which made EJ decide to turn on a side road traveling down far enough not to be spotted from the side of the road to stop his car and help her out of it before she threw up in his vehicle.

He quickly helped her out of the car, barely making it out in time before she wrenched herself free from his grasp and vomited in the high grass a few steps away from him. She stood there hunched over for a few minutes her body racked with spasms as she emptied the meager contents of her stomach. Finally she was finished or she hoped she was done, surely there couldn't be much left since she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast and her steady stream of liquid fortifications had been purely alcohol since she had gotten into the car with Lucas a few hours beforehand.

Oh god now she had gone and done it now for sure the ultimate humiliation. She had thrown up in front of the one person she was enamored with, the man who had witnessed so many of her flub ups in recent months. It seemed like whenever this man was around her that her common sense left her and either she was telling him off or doing something that made her look completely ridiculous in his eyes.

She stood there with her back to him, her face a deep crimson as her mind replayed the many times she had made a fool of herself in front of him and this latest episode would take the cake so to speak. She felt him behind her as he reached to turn her to face him and she was fiercely glad the darkness hid her features from him.

While one of his hands was on her arm, the other simply held out a bottle of water for her to take.

"Here this will help rinse your mouth. I apologize that it isn't cold, but at least it's something," EJ offered up to her as Sami took the bottle of water from him while she took a step away from the touch of his hand on her arm. It was disconcerting that a simple touch from him could affect her so, the feeling of an electric current flowing through him to her.

Sami unscrewed the lid and muttered of word of thanks to him. She turned away from him again being careful not to step in her vomit, she took a swig of the water, swishing it in her mouth before expectorating it onto the ground and then another until she was certain the terrible taste was gone.

She didn't want to face him; it was bad enough if she was ever unfortunate enough to get sick in front of her friends, but not him. Dr. Wells was a man of the world and why he would waste his time helping her was a mystery she had yet to solve. This was just another thing to add to an ever growing long list of fuck ups she somehow managed to perform whenever this enigmatic man was in her vicinity.

So instead of doing the brave thing and facing this head on, she walked away from him, trudging through the straggly grass that lined the wooded area until she made it to a clearing. While she couldn't claim that it was a steady walk on her part, at least she made it to the water's edge of the lake before plopping down on the rather rocky surface beneath her feet.

He had thought after she had partook of the water he had given her that she would turn around and they would get into his car so that he could drive her back to her dorm room. He guessed he should have known this spitfire of a girl would do the exact opposite of what he thought she would do given the circumstances. Hadn't that been the thing which had intrigued him so much about her from the start?

The smart thing to do would be to corral her back from wherever she was wandering off to and get away from her, yet instead of calling her to come back to him he watched her continue her somewhat bumbling attempt at a graceful exit. He kept up with her trying not to let her know he was following her, but he didn't want anything else to befall her especially in her current inebriated condition.

He was glad he hadn't drank that much tonight, at least one of them needed a clear head and apparently it wasn't going to be that beautiful creature that had finally stopped her movements before she reached the water. At least he wasn't going to have to drag her in from an attempted moonlit swim.

She sat facing away from him, her knees drawn up tight against her form as she stared out over the water. The rays of the moonlight casting her in such a perfect light that it made him want to write it all down before such imagery was lost entirely from his thoughts even though he wasn't entirely sure he could do her description enough justice by his words.

He knew she didn't have a clue at all what being around her did to him, but he knew all too well and it was a frightening thought to think. This girl sitting on the ground before him encompassed the jumpstart of his elusive muse and it gripped his heart that he wanted to learn everything about what made her the woman she was becoming and even worse was that he was feeling things for her that he shouldn't be feeling at all.

He sat down beside her instead of encouraging her to come along so that he could take her back home where she would be safe from these feelings he had for her that were quickly taking on a life of their own despite his mind's protests to the contrary.

He decided to break the ice between them since it was apparent that she wasn't going to be forthcoming to him, her gaze was firmly held on the horizon, and she hadn't even acknowledged he had come to sit down beside her.

"All you all right Samantha?"

She shook her head and rolled her eyes, still not looking at him, "I'm fine, wonderful even in spite of the fact that once again I've made a complete and utter fool of myself in front of you, something that seems to be becoming a daily occurrence whenever you are within one hundred feet of me."

"You're not a fool Samantha, far from it."

This statement made her finally turn her head to face him. "Oh really what kind of fool makes a pass at her professor in a crowded bar no less?"

"Was that a pass? I thought you were just trying to find a means of escape when your father entered the bar with what appeared to be a good portion of your extended family that works at the police department as well."

"You're sweet to try to get me off the hook that easily," Sami said in a self deprecating tone.

"Oh my goodness, is Samantha Brady actually giving me a compliment?"

"Stop teasing me, you know the last thing you needed was for one of your most challenging students to try to lip lock with you when you were clearly on a date tonight."

"Although I won't disagree with your assessment of being my most challenging student…"

"Not the most challenging student I said one of the most, a big difference in context."

"Well for your information, I wasn't on a date with Lindsey; we merely agreed to meet up for drinks tonight. If you hadn't of walked away from us this afternoon you would have known it wasn't anything remotely close to being a date with her."

"Oh is that what they call it these days before you hook up. Meeting up before drinks and then you go off to have sex."

Her words hurt him almost as bad as her apparently low opinion of him that she held. He had no intention of sleeping with Lindsey at all so he shot off back to her, "Is that what you were doing meeting up with the guys for what appeared to be several drinks before going off to have sex with one of them?"

"I'm not a whore," Sami stated heatedly.

"I'm not either so don't assume that you know what I'm thinking or doing with someone else."

"Are you sure you aren't gay because any guy within a ten mile radius wants Lindsey? All the guys at school lust over her whenever she walks by them."

"Definitely not gay although I do have standards even though you don't seem to think that I do. Plus I'm not one of your frat boys who would shag anyone that came their way if they'd let them."

"For your information I don't have a frat boy, much less a group of frat boys to call my own."

"So what was that little display you were putting on tonight at the bar drinking with them and dancing like you were at a strip club?"

"Are you telling me you go to strip clubs?"

"No, stop trying to put words in my mouth. I was just trying to prove a point your actions were pretty clear cut that you were on the prowl so to speak, not me."

"Are you really that oblivious that you have no idea all the girls on campus, the women and I'm pretty sure a fair share of the men want you? Like want to jump your bones want you."

EJ scoffed, "You are delusional Samantha. People do not perceive me in the way you are saying they do."

"You haven't ever noticed how Brittany and Tori don't wear underwear to class in hopes you'll get a view of their snatch? I mean they might as well not even wear a skirt since they barely cover their ass anyway. Surely you aren't clueless enough to believe that many female students are having such a difficult time in your class they make appointments with you to see what they can do to bring up their grades."

Her words stopped him for a second; while he knew he wasn't ugly by any means Samantha was giving these silly girls too much credit by their actions.

"I don't barter sex for grades Samantha, surely you know me better than to think I would lower myself to take advantage of some misguided girls who apparently have way too much free time on their hands if they want to seduce me."

"Do you even look at yourself in a mirror? Don't you ever hear the whispers when you walk by those types of girls? I know for a fact they talk about you along with their hopes they'll be the first one who gets a piece of you."

"You're dead wrong," he began only to have her cut him off again.

"Just take a good look around the classroom Monday morning and then tell me you don't see the obvious plays and signals that are coming your way."

He cut his eyes at her, the disbelief apparent in his eyes over what she was saying to him.

"I'm not lying Dr. Wells…"

"EJ," he prompted her, as much as they had been through no way was he going to let her continue to call him Dr. Wells. Hadn't she said they were friends earlier tonight?

"EJ," she said primly and then continued on with her current train of thought, "you are the talk of the campus. Everybody wants you."

"Not you though," EJ commented. "Miss Samantha Brady is above all that foolish nonsense. You'd never in a thousand years consider of thinking of me in those terms would you? No you'd rather give yourself to some unworthy boy would couldn't appreciate you at all. Someone who can't see what a fascinating and intriguing person you are and what an incredible woman you will become in the future given time."

"For your information I've never given myself to anyone ever. I'm not a slut like my sister who'll sleep with anyone who will pay her a compliment as long as they won't tell Austin about it."

Surely he hadn't heard her correctly because if that were true then Samantha was a virgin.

"You don't have to say anything; I know I'm a freak of nature. I mean what kind of girl my age hasn't had sex by now? I'm freaking twenty years old and I've barely kissed anyone besides Austin. The only person who gets less action than me is my roommate Jamie and she is saving herself for marriage."

Whoa the name Austin stopped him cold, had Samantha dated her sister's boyfriend? Her giving him the information she was still a virgin astounded him. Most girls didn't make it to her age without having sex with someone. Goodness he'd lost his virginity to one of his mother's friends by the time he had turned fifteen.

Sami made a move to get up, well she guessed she could add to list of embarrassing things said and done to Dr. Wells was her frank admission of being a virgin. She bet he did think she was a little girl instead of a woman. She did her best to steady herself; she'd walk back to the dorm before riding in the car with him even if her head was beginning to throb.

EJ brought himself out of his stupor when he realized she was once again running away from him. Luckily he caught up to her quickly before she could make it to his car and god forbid if she stormed out on the highway. Who knew what kind of person would pick her up if she decided to hitchhike her way back to her dorm room.

"Samantha, please stop."

It surprised him that she even listened to his request, much less obeyed it as she stopped moving and stood stock still in front of him. Even though he knew he shouldn't touch her, the temptation was too much for him to stop himself. He gently tugged at her wrists until she unfolded her arms and looked at him with eyes that threatened to overflow with unshed tears as he gently pulled her into a hug.

It took a few moments for her to relax into his grasp, but finally she did and it suddenly it felt right for her to be in his arms as he continued to hold her and then in a little bit he kissed the top of her head and she felt a tenderness flood her soul like she had never experienced before with anyone else, not even Austin whom she had thought she had been in love with for years. She felt like she could stay in his arms forever, safe and secure from the rest of the world while he held her.

Then he moved back just a tad, to tip her chin up so that should would look at him and for a second she thought he might kiss her until he spoke the most solemn words of advice she had ever heard from anyone else.

"Samantha, I know you don't believe it right now, but what you have is a precious gift, something that shouldn't ever be squandered away with someone who isn't worthy of you. Promise me you won't take being a virgin lightly and let someone take your body without thinking it through very carefully."

She was quiet for a few seconds not answering him, but then she spoke softly. "I promise EJ. You really don't think I'm some kind of freak by still being a virgin?"

"Samantha Brady you are a treasure, a gem that outshines all those around you whether you realize it or not."

"You don't have to lie to me to make me feel better and I'm sorry I put you in a bad situation tonight by kissing you tonight in the bar. I just wasn't thinking clearly about the consequences."

He couldn't let her go away believing that she had put a hardship on him by her kiss when it had been something he had wanted for quite some time even though he hadn't acted upon his impulses to kiss her.

"You think I didn't want to kiss you?"

"Like I've stated earlier you could have anyone you choose…"

Even though he knew he should stay away far from her, he couldn't help himself and before he talked himself out of it he moved his hands from her sides and placed one on each side of her face pausing momentarily as if he were trying to memorize each curve of her face and then he softly kissed her, his lips barely grazing her own before pulling back from her.

"Now we're even. I kissed you when I shouldn't have either. But you'll keep your promise you made earlier to me, won't you? You'll wait until you find the person who is worthy of your heart?"

She nodded her head since she couldn't speak without fear of babbling on like a fool and she was rewarded with a smile from him that could possibly melt her jaded heart. Why if EJ smiled at her that way too much she might even begin to start liking the poetry he claimed was so magical.

He took her hand and they walked back hand in hand to his car and he even opened the car door for her like she was something special and she even felt that way while she struggled to keep her eyes open on the ride back to her dorm.

EJ looked over at the sleeping girl in his car and didn't want to disturb her slumber. Was it possible that this imp of a girl was weaving her way into his heart even more so than he had let her? While he knew he should drop her off at her dorm, he didn't think she would make it in without his assistance and he couldn't quite explain to anyone why he was taking one of his student's back to her dorm room.

So he did the selfish thing and took her back to his flat instead. He told himself it was only to keep people from talking about her being drunk, but he knew she had sobered up quite a bit before she had drifted off to sleep in his car.

Plus he wanted a few more hours with her even if she was asleep. So he parked his car at the curb and after going to open up the front door he came back for her, gingerly taking her out of the car being careful not to wake her as she murmured something in her sleep and snuggled up closer to him.

Unknown to him that someone was taking a very particular interest in his return especially since he had a sleeping Samantha in his arms, never suspecting anyone would see them entering his flat at all as he shut the door behind them.

Alan smiled an evil smile in the dark when he looked at the photo he had taken on his IPhone. He placed his phone back in his pocket and patted it knowing he had been right all along about Sami even though Lucas was too stupid to see it.

It was apparent Sami was fucking their teacher to improve her grade and now he had insurance that he was going to pass English class too. No way would Professor Wells be failing him now.

No way at all.


	8. Chapter 8

**Change of Heart**

**Chapter 22**

EJ debated only for a few seconds on where he should place Samantha while she was still sleeping. There was only one bedroom in his flat and while he could have placed her on the couch since it was plenty long enough for her petite frame he didn't want her back to hurt or for her to get a crick in her neck from sleeping there.

He took her to his bedroom, gently laying her down on top of the comforter on his bed before he removed her shoes, noting they were ridiculously high heeled contraptions, something he didn't quite understand why women wore since they had to hurt their feet. The only merit he could think of was that they added height which was something this slip of a girl probably thought she might need, especially if she was around him for any length of time.

She had been clutching her small pocketbook in his car and luckily her grasp had relaxed a slight bit, so he gingerly removed it from her and placed it on the nightstand beside the bed. While he wondered what she might carry in such a small bag although he wouldn't ever look into it. He'd learned his lesson by looking at her confiscated cell phone that afternoon in his office and he didn't want to incite her fury again over invading her privacy again.

He took a throw blanket and gently placed it over her and watched as she wrapped herself around in it even more thoroughly in her sleep, still softly mumbling something he couldn't quite make out. Although the temptation to climb into bed with her and wrap his arms around her while she was sleeping was strong, he didn't do it.

He had to keep in mind she was his student, not a potential lover even if it had felt like forever since he had been with someone. Then again Samantha Brady wasn't just someone to sleep with to relieve a physical need that sex could provide, she was more than just a one night stand, she was special. He'd known it from the moment he'd met her and with each passing day since then he had found out something new about her that drew him to her even more.

He didn't need to fall for her more than he already had fallen. He was pretty much smitten with her and after she had kissed him in the bar tonight he knew it wouldn't take much encouragement on her part at all and he'd be completely under her spell. He also doubted she would want to be likened to a witch, casting magical spells that could render a man to do things he wouldn't do under normal circumstances.

It was totally wrong of him to even be thinking of her in any kind of sexual manner, especially considering her innocence. After her frank admission to him tonight about her experience or rather lack of it he knew this was a matter that he didn't need to brook with her. He knew more about her than he needed to know, they had passed the student/teacher aspect of a relationship tonight and he honestly didn't know how he could go back to just being her teacher because he actually considered her a friend, a confidant, someone he had not expected to find when he had come to Salem.

Plus he'd made her promise to not give away her innocence lightly; to be sure of exactly what she was doing when or if she chose to go that route with another person. Why he'd asked that of her he wasn't quite sure, but he knew how that experience could change a person and he liked her just the way she was, but the selfish part of him had asked it of her because he knew it would drive him crazy thinking she was with someone who wouldn't cherish her and treat her the way she deserved to be treated.

Samantha was so unique, her way of looking at things and the things she wanted to see outside of this town made him want to take her places she hadn't ever been before just to watch the experience through her eyes. He could just imagine all the fun she could bring to life, what adventures they could have together if he let her into see into his heart.

Oh damn who was he kidding? He had it bad for her and this wasn't going to be good for either one of them. He needed to shut down this romantic side of him that wanted to be her first of so many things. He had to shut down this type of thinking; he couldn't have her in his life in this way.

_It just wouldn't work…_

So he'd do the right thing and not get into bed with her, but he could go do some writing because Samantha really had jumpstarted his muse. So if he couldn't have her physically he could be with her in his imagination, the world he went to when he was writing.

In the world he created in his head they could be together, even if it wasn't meant to be in this world. The words to Samantha he wasn't allowed to utter to her aloud he could speak in his work. He went to his desk after pouring himself a brandy, getting his glasses on so that he could see better while he was writing and when he opened up his laptop he knew exactly what he was going to write as a first draft to send to his publisher next month. He was going to totally scrap his original premise he had been working on and begin anew tonight.

He was going to write from his heart and it would be a love story about unrequited love, an impossible love, a love he was feeling for the first time in his life.

He was going to write about Samantha...


	9. Chapter 9

**Change of Heart**

**Chapter 23**

Sami woke up and quickly realized she wasn't in her dorm room. While she was in a bed, it definitely wasn't the single twin bed she slept in each night while she attended college. No, this bed was really comfortable and pretty large too almost like the one she had in her bedroom at her mother's home.

She sat up slowly and looked around the darkened room, trying to figure out exactly where she was since even when she partied at school she always made sure she went back to her dorm room each night. She wasn't one of those girls who slept around and ended up in someone else's dorm room, different people's apartments or god forbid a frat house bedroom, which would ruin your reputation quicker than anything else among the fraternity boys.

She glanced down and was thankful all her clothes were on, at least she hadn't done something crazy and made a fool of herself tonight and then she paused immediately. She was under no illusion and knew she had drunk a lot at the bar with Lucas and his fraternity brothers and then what had she done? She tried to concentrate because things were kind of fuzzy and then it hit her. She had literally bumped into EJ at the bar and somehow she had managed to kiss him.

Then the rest of the memories hit her simultaneously, EJ had taken her from the bar when her dad and a group of the Salem PD had done a raid trying to find underage drinkers in the bar. Her getting sick in front of him, stalking away and him following her and their subsequent talk afterwards in which she had revealed things to him no one else beyond Jamie even knew about her.

But the most surprising thing was he had kissed her back as well, telling them they were even. She wished she had been in better control when he had done that to her, also she bet even though she had rinsed her mouth out with water when she had gotten sick her breath had to have been kind of gross.

She looked for her pocketbook hoping she hadn't left it at the bar or her dad would surely know she had been there and then she would be in big trouble with him despite her quick getaway with EJ. She looked over to the nightstand and breathed a sigh of relief. Her pocketbook was there along with a glass of water and two aspirin.

The man was thoughtful even if it had taken her long enough to see it. She got up on the side of the bed, feeling a little bit woozy and took the medicine along with a big sip of water. Maybe she'd be lucky and not have a hangover in the morning because it still had to be night although she wasn't really sure what time it was right now.

She reached for her pocketbook and fished out her emergency supply kit she had come up with when she had begun college. Yes, she thought in triumph she had a remaining Crest one time disposable toothbrush. Now to find the bathroom to brush her teeth. Hopefully it would be close by EJ's bedroom.

Then it hit her, EJ must have brought her home with him and she was in his bedroom. She was in EJ's bedroom, correction Dr. Wells' bedroom, her English professor, and she was close to freaking out. She cautiously got out of the bed, looked around the dark room and luckily found his bathroom was located right off from his bedroom.

She ran her hand on the wall beside the door and found the light switch, flipped it on and when she saw her reflection in the mirror immediately winced at the sight she made. Her hair was a tangled mess, she had raccoon eyes from where her mascara had smeared and basically she assessed herself to be a hot mess.

She turned on the faucet and quickly used her toothbrush, trying not to gag. She felt rough and looked it as well. She guessed it was par for the course, if she was going to make a fool of herself it was going to be for EJ to witness. This entire night had been a disaster from the moment she had called Lucas telling him she wanted to go out and party with him.

Yep she could pretty much insert in any humiliation scenario she could possibly have with EJ and place her bet that she would do something completely idiotic. He probably thought she was pretty pathetic and angling for him to kiss her and that was the only reason he had returned a kiss to her in the first place.

Since she was in the bathroom she freshened up as best as she could, but try as she might her hair was unmanageable, she'd just have to let it look like a scraggly bush since she didn't have a hair band or pony tail holder with her. She guessed she had been in too much of a hurry to get out tonight to try to forget EJ had been on a date with Lindsey to think of bringing hair supplies with her too.

EJ had told her he hadn't been on a date with Lindsey though, that he wasn't interested in her at all, but he had to be lying to her. All the guys wanted Lindsey, but she was here with him instead.

Well not with him, with him, she had all her clothes intact and surely to goodness if he had tried anything else with her she would have known because she imagined he would know exactly what to do to make a woman feel satisfied. She stopped herself; she definitely wasn't a woman, far from it.

She bet girls in high school had more experience than she did and she'd even admitted it to EJ earlier by telling him she was a virgin. She really was pathetic.

She had some options, she could try to slink out of here without him seeing her, take the dreaded walk of shame back to the dorm and avoid him as much as she could when she was in class. No way could she drop his class now, it was past the drop/add period and how would she explain to her parents she had failed English? She didn't want them to stop sending her to college if she failed classes because she had to get out of this town before it completely stifled her creativity.

Or she could go and face him wherever the hell he might be, she felt bad, if she had been sleeping in his bed where had he slept? He hadn't even wanted to share a bed with her, not that she had wanted to sleep with him, like have steamy hot sex with him.

She shook her head; she wasn't going to go there in her mind, wondering what having sex with EJ would be like even though she imagined it would have to be pretty amazing. He was the most handsome man she had ever met before in her life and there was no telling what he would look like when he wasn't wearing clothes.

EJ would know exactly what to do, there wouldn't be any fumbling around on his part not like stories she had heard from other girls about guys who didn't do anything for them, only cared about getting off themselves while they left them unsatisfied. He could probably look at her with those amazing eyes of him and have her already halfway to orgasm without even touching her.

No. No. No. She wasn't going to seek him out and ask him to have sex with her just so she wouldn't be a virgin anymore.

Another part of her mind argued she might could and then the mystery about the entire sex thing would be solved. She wouldn't have to give it up to one of those boys who would tell everyone on campus if she slept with one of them. Plus she'd made a promise to EJ earlier that she wouldn't give up her gift of her virginity without some serious thought.

The upside was that EJ was a teacher, so surely he could teach her about sex. She'd promise to not tell a soul, so he couldn't get into trouble with the college school board. Plus she'd heard of stories of professors having relationships with students although she wasn't sure if any of those stories had been fact or fiction.

So all she had to go was go find him and ask him point blank. The worse he could do was tell her no and if he did she'd accept it and go from there. Surely this couldn't be any worse than the rest of the things he had witnessed from her.

Although if she kept standing there in his bathroom debating on whether or not she was going to go ask her professor to have sex with her she was going to chicken out.

She looked at herself in the mirror, tried once more the pull the tangles out of her hair with not much more success and pondered on the endless scenarios that could come about for her if she asked him. Did she or did she not want to know what it would be like to be with him intimately?

The answer popped into her mind within seconds.

Yes, she did.


	10. Chapter 10

**Change of Heart**

**Chapter 24**

Sami stepped out of the bathroom determined to ask EJ if he would be interested in helping her lose her virginity. She didn't want her first time to be with just anybody, she wanted it to be special and memorable.

If he agreed she was pretty sure the memorable part was assured. She walked out of his bedroom and searched the darkened apartment for his whereabouts. It didn't take long, his place wasn't that big, although it was spacious enough for one possibly two people.

She found him with his back to her, at his desk with a small lamp turned on beside it providing the only light in the room. He appeared to be busily typing on something; his book he had told her he was writing was her first guess.

There was a half filled glass on his desk too filled with an amber liquid which could be bourbon, she wasn't really certain about those things since she mostly drank beer and the occasional wine cooler which were staples of the girls who partied at college. She didn't particularly like what she called the hard stuff since she was afraid of losing too much control of herself if she attempted to drink something with such high alcohol content in it.

She watched him for a few minutes; he didn't realize she was in the room with him yet. EJ was completely oblivious to his surroundings as he kept typing. He would stop for a few seconds, mutter something under his breath she couldn't decipher and then begin once more typing at a very quick pace.

She hated to interrupt him, he looked like he was in the zone, typing away, pausing occasionally to take a sip of whatever was in his glass and then back at it again. Finally though before she lost all of her nerve she walked up closer to him, not close enough to look over his shoulder to see what he was writing, but close enough for him to sense someone was in the room with him.

"EJ, thank you for taking care of me tonight," she began before taking a seat on his couch.

EJ jumped slightly in his chair at the sound of her voice, not really being used to having anyone in his place since Samantha was the first person he had even brought to his apartment since he had moved to Salem and started his teaching job at the college. He immediately saved his work and pulled down the top of his laptop so that she couldn't take a gander at what he was writing. She definitely didn't need to see what he was writing at all.

"Sorry I didn't mean to startle you," Sami's voice was apologetic.

EJ turned his desk chair around so that he could properly face her while they were speaking to one another. "Forgive me for being so jumpy, I was writing and I tend to forget where I am sometimes."

"I shouldn't have stopped you; you seemed to be very engrossed in what you were writing."

EJ looked at his watch, "I'm glad you did, I've lost track of time and I've been up much longer than I needed to be, but I was on a roll. I've learned when the muse strikes you need to write before you lose what you were trying to scribe in the first place."

"I wish I knew that feeling, it's a struggle for me to even write a paper for your English class."

"Hmmm, I never would have guessed that about you at all," EJ said in a light teasing voice as he gave her a grin.

"Smartass," Sami shot back before she thought better of it and then she put a hand to her mouth. "Oh god, I'm sorry. You're my teacher and I shouldn't call you that ever."

"Well I was being a smartass, so please don't apologize to me. I thought we were past the teacher student phase of our relationship especially after our talk last night. If I recall correctly we had both decided we were at the friend stage."

Sami nodded her head slightly, "I remember, well at least most of the night, although I don't know how I ended up here in your apartment instead of my dorm room."

"You fell asleep on the way back and I didn't think it would be appropriate to take you back in the dorm myself. You were still pretty tipsy at the time. I didn't want to wake you either," EJ offered up as an explanation to her.

"Thank you, I wouldn't want to have to explain why my professor was bringing me back to my room, especially since you're the hot topic on campus."

EJ quirked an eyebrow as he looked at her, "Professor? We're back to you calling me Professor again? Hot topic, eh? I've told you before people are not talking about me in a sexual way. Plus I thought you didn't listen to all the gossip on campus anyway."

Sami rolled her eyes and called him by his given name, "EJ, if you want to be dense over your good looks and how you affect people than that is your choice, but believe me when I tell you that you're a wanted man on campus. I even bet there are gambling pools going around on the lucky woman who finally snags you. Although I think all those girls are pretty delusional."

"Thank you, I think," EJ gave her a small smile. "I don't know whether to be flattered by your utter lack of interest in me as a man or congratulate you on seeing the light that I'm not all that these girls are making me out to be with their silly guessing games."

Sami shook her head, "For you to be so smart I'm kind of starting to rethink how highly I placed you on the intelligence scale."

"Now you're just being catty," EJ began as he picked up his glass of bourbon and prepared to take a sip of it. "I never claimed to be the smartest man around."

"Good because if you were smart you would have already figured out that I do listen to you. More importantly since you made me promise not to give myself away to any of those boys lightly I've come to a very important decision."

"Great, I'm glad you will at least listen to me about things of life even if you completely disregard my urgings for you to embrace the magic of poetry."He finally took a sip of his drink from the tumbler he that he had been holding.

"No, you are wrong I'm very interested in you as a man. EJ what I'm proposing to you is this. I will be the best student you've ever had in class, if you'll agree to teach me some very important lessons. I want you to be my first. I want to give you my virginity." Sami stated in a matter of fact manner as if they were talking about an assignment she had been given in class by him.

EJ's eyes grew wide and he inadvertently spewed out the sip of alcohol he had in his mouth. Surely he hadn't heard Samantha correctly because she was asking him something he had never imagined hearing come out of mouth. Samantha was asking him to sleep with her.

He sure hadn't been expecting that kind of proposition from her ever. What in the world was this girl thinking and what in the hell was he going to say to her? She was looking at him waiting for an answer.

He looked up to the ceiling for a brief moment hoping for some divine intervention before answering her question...


	11. Chapter 11

**Change of Heart **

**Chapter 25**

_Wow so this is what it feels like to be completely robbed of speech_, EJ thought to himself knowing without a doubt exactly what being utterly speechless felt like in the few seconds after Samantha had asked him such a loaded question.

Did he want to sleep with her? Yes, very much so. Was he going to take her virginity? Damn, he honestly didn't know the answer to that question Samantha had so bluntly put out there for him.

While he prided himself that he was one to be able to think fast on his feet, it was like having a complete power outage occur in his brain and he was literally in the dark causing his reactions to everything around him to be delayed. He decided to take another sip of his drink, this time being able to hold it within his mouth instead of spewing it out in shock.

He made himself look at her, this woman child who had so brazenly just put it all out there for him when she really had no clue about what she was truly asking of him to do for her.

Maybe he hadn't heard her correctly, maybe he had just been fantasizing about her or had even fallen asleep sitting up from writing most of the night and this was a crazy dream. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and reopened them. Samantha was just sitting there patiently waiting for an answer from him.

To be perfectly honest he was dumbfounded and he was pretty sure he looked like the idiot he thought himself to be at this moment as well. So he thought he'd go in a more cautious route with her and act like he wasn't completely sure he had heard her correctly. Really as he was doing was grasping at straws while he tried to figure out what he should do given the current situation he was facing.

"I beg your pardon Samantha."

"Wow I've managed to see what it feels like to be on the other side of the spectrum, that is if the look upon your face is anything like what mine has been when you've asked me a question in class and I'm scrambling to find an answer or hope someone else distracts you away from me." Sami said with more than a hint of satisfaction in her tone. She looked around the room and then back at him. "Well you don't have anyone coming to your rescue by asking me something to take my attention away from you so spill. It was a simple yes or no question. It wasn't like I was asking you to perform brain surgery on me."

My god this girl was cheeky, he had to give her points for that if nothing else. He placed his glass back on his desk to prevent from spilling the last few remaining drops of liquid left in it on the floor. No doubt about it she of backing down from this until she got an answer from him, but he wasn't some backwards boy who had never had sex before and was being presented with the opportunity to have sex.

"I can honestly say I've never been asked that particular question before in my entire life. Are you sure you aren't still drunk?"

Sami shook her head and did a great Tori/Britney impression because he swore she sounded just like one of those girls in his class that she had disparaged on their blatant flirting with him, "Sorry Professor Wells, I can't blame it on the alcohol."

"I just wanted to be sure," EJ replied hedging for an extra bit of time because he didn't know what in the hell he was going to do about this proposition she had given him. Part of him desperately wanted to just run with it because of his intense attraction to her, but his practical side was screaming that he shouldn't even entertain the notion of deflowering her because there was no way it would be good for either one of them.

Sami returned back to her normal voice, "Maybe you've never been asked that question before since most of the girls in your classes are most definitely not virgins. They actually know exactly what they'd like to do to you and vice versa and well I'm kind of clueless about these matters."

"All the more reasons for you to claim you were still drunk instead of admitting you want me to sleep with you."

"I doubt there would be much sleeping involved; I mean I'm not a total moron. I have watched the act on movies before."

"You watch porn?" EJ asked with almost a horror etched upon his face. This girl was absolutely a study of contradictions if that were the case.

"No! You've totally got the wrong idea. I meant movies like _Titanic_ or _Gone with the Wind_. Not that you actually saw any sex going on in _Gone With the Wind_, but you know Rhett had to be getting some from Scarlett after all he went through to be with her "

"Thanks for clarifying it for me. Silly me I wonder why I would have the wrong idea after you have given me such a proposition," EJ replied dryly, at last feeling a bit of his confidence flowing back into his system after it had been shocked out of it by her a few minutes beforehand. Although from their previous conversations he would have never pegged her to be a closet romantic since she had proclaimed she didn't believe in love that it was just a myth of sorts and those movies were very romantic movies.

"Even though _Pretty Woman_ basically glossed over the whole she was a prostitute for hire that somehow managed to snag the rich billionaire with her charm and good looks," Sami mused out loud. "Damn I wish I had hair like Julia Roberts, I bet she never has a bad hair day unlike me who at this very moment is seriously rocking a complete bed head look."

He wanted to go kiss her; she was an innocent girl but she had such a smart mouth on her. A sensual mouth that he wanted to kiss, really kiss unlike the chaste kiss he had given her hours before after they had left the bar.

"While I won't disagree with you on Julia Roberts, your hair is beautiful in its own right. You don't need to be wishing to look like someone else because I happen to like the way you look."

"Great, so if you can stand the way I look then this should be a no brainer. You give me some quick lessons on sex and I'm going to be the best student you've ever had in your life."

EJ contemplated her face, she really had no clue what such lessons would entail, physically and even more importantly mentally. He decided to call her bluff so to speak. "I've only been teaching for a few months, but it would take a lot for you to be my best student since you're pretty far down the line especially with your lackadaisical attitude toward any type of scholastic endeavors."

"I'm a fast learner," Sami smiled thinking she was going to get her wish and EJ would teach her all about sex.

EJ thought to himself, if he pushed it she would back off because Samantha really didn't know what she was asking of him. So he got up from his chair, walked over to her and got right in her face and took a strand of her wayward hair between his fingertips as he leaned in to whisper in her ear, "But what you don't understand is that these things take time. Samantha there won't be any quickies from me. It takes me a very long time to satisfy my urges because I have so many of them. You see that is what happens when you're with a man who knows how to please a woman and believe me when I tell you I know hundreds of ways to show you exactly what I mean."

Sami gulped audibly over EJ's whispered words in her ear, his breath hot as he continued to twirl the lock of her hair he had in his grasp, slowly making it pull tighter with each revolution. She could feel her pulse quicken at the thought of being with this man. This was no boy, he was all man.

A very sexy man apparently, even more so than she had previously given him credit for being. Now she understood what it meant to feel all tingly over mere words been spoken because if she wasn't mistaken she was getting wet as she felt her temperature start to rise.

"Well my daddy always told us to go big or go home, guess I'll take the first option," she stated with a false bravado that she wasn't completely sure of, but she was going with it none the less.

That statement took EJ aback, albeit only momentarily, he pulled back from her so that he could look her in the eye, "Somehow I don't think your father meant that statement to be taken in the context you are giving it right now."

"So are you telling me you won't help me? Do I need to ask someone else to relieve me of my virginity?"

That thought filled EJ with a quick anger, he didn't want anyone else touching her, and if she was going to do something this foolish he wanted to be the one to teach her because he didn't want her hurt by some ignorant boy who wouldn't know or care what he was doing to her.

"How about I propose a counteroffer to you? We take things slow, there's no need to rush and go straight to point so to speak. There's way more to sex than the actual act of intercourse. You do things my way, a bit at a time. That way I can know you're actually going to keep your side of the bargain to me. No slam, bam thank you mam'and you're out the door. If you want to learn about sex, then you prove to me you are going to be the best student I've ever had in actual class. For each improvement I see from you, and then you get a new lesson in the physical aspects of sex. If you decide at any time it's all too much for you then we can forget you ever even asked me about taking things in our relationship to an entirely different level because once you agree to this it changes things forever for the both of us."

Surely she was going to say no to him, she wasn't one to study so he'd be off the hook with her, plus she seemed slightly hot and bothered by his whispered words of pleasure he could give her and with her being inexperienced surely she had to be slightly intimidated by him. He wasn't going to have to actually go through with this preposterous notion of hers that he be the one to actually teach her about sex.

She was quiet for a few minutes, apparently thinking it over and EJ was glad he could feel that she was going to take the option of forgetting about the offer and let it go.

She nodded her head thoughtfully, "Okay, I agree to your counteroffer. We do things your way since you're the one who actually knows what they are doing in the first place."

Oh hell she had called his bluff and now he'd have to go ahead with this crazy ass plan of hers. He managed to put a confident smile on his face that he certainly didn't feel and said, "All right if you're absolutely sure."

"I'm sure this is what I want to do," Sami stated with more conviction in her voice.

"Okay then, lets lay out the terms of this agreement," EJ went over to his desk to get out a piece of paper and a pen thinking he was surely going to hell for this because despite all the things she had said, but he couldn't back out now. It was too late to change his mind; the only way he would stop would be for Samantha to call a halt to this madness she had created.

He only hoped neither one of them were going to be hurt by this crazy idea because the lines between them were so blurred that he suspected both their lives would be changed completely when everything was said and done. He took his time getting the needed things to write things out and to his surprise she agreed to every idea he came up with in what he figured he would refer to later on as a sexual synopsis.

He guessed he was going to find out about what going big meant because it sure didn't look like Samantha wanted to go home anytime soon.


	12. Chapter 12

**Change of Heart**

**Chapter 26**

EJ looked at his watch disbelievingly as he realized it was a quarter to three in the morning. He had to teach class at eight o clock sharp. While he knew the material he was teaching tomorrow, he didn't want to go into class looking like death warmed over either.

He knew he should get some sleep, but with Samantha here and the terms of their unorthodox agreement stated he really wanted to kiss her because kisses wouldn't necessarily lead to sex. Yet he was afraid if he began kissing her, he wouldn't want to stop at that point either.

"Just so you know, you aren't skipping my class tomorrow morning, if I have to go to class, you do too." EJ stated with what he hoped was a stern voice.

Sami rolled her eyes at him, "Oh come on, you can't be serious and I've hardly had any sleep tonight."

"You want to play, you got to pay," EJ replied back as soon as she started complaining.

"But we really haven't gotten to play yet," Sami began as she bit her bottom lip. "And we could play hooky together from school if you wanted to."

EJ felt an instant pull toward her, especially with that sexy sweet voice of hers she was currently using. He had moved back away from her while he was stating terms for them both to go by thinking she would change her mind with each new idea he came up with for her, although she had readily agreed to each addition.

"Sweetheart you want to play?" EJ asked with an edginess Sami hadn't ever heard from him before.

She wasn't going to back down, she knew he had been trying to get her to chicken out, but she was going to do this with him. She wasn't going to be quitter, before long she would know all about the mysteries of sex like most of her friends knew. Well most of them with the exception of Jamie, who would be flabbergasted that she had come up with such a preposterous notion, much less asked Dr. Wells to be her partner in crime for this venture.

She hadn't answered him; he thought he had finally got her to stop this insanity before it ever began. It would be for the best even though a part of him felt more than a slight bit disappointed.

"Oh crap, I've got to call Jamie," Sami exclaimed as she quickly got up from sitting and started to go back to EJ's bedroom. All kinds of crazy thoughts began running through her head. Like what if Jamie had gotten worried that she hadn't come back to their dorm room tonight and called her parents or what if Jamie had went out looking for her on her own and hadn't been able to find her?

"Jamie?" EJ questioned as he immediately followed her into his bedroom, watching as Sami frantically searched her pocketbook for her cell phone.

"Jamie, my best friend and roommate, the sweet girl who works in the library in the afternoons," Sami offered up in explanation, ready to throw her pocketbook up against the wall when EJ came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her manic motions.

"May I?" EJ asked as he leant over her back, easily reaching around her to take her pocketbook from her.

Sami began thinking of all the worst possible scenarios happening since she had completely forgotten to call Jamie tonight and let EJ have her pocketbook even though she normally wouldn't ever allow anyone to go through her things. Her privacy was something she valued especially growing up with her siblings who thought nothing of scavenging things from one another without asking.

"You need your phone, right?"

Sami nodded her head and within seconds EJ handed her phone to her and even though he was curious about what other things she might carry he didn't look any further, just placed the pocketbook back on the bedside dresser. She took the phone and scrolled the text messages she had amassed since the last time she had looked at her phone right before she and Lucas had entered the bar.

There were a lot of messages waiting for her to open.

_Lucas~ where did u go? _

_Jamie~ starting to get late and you aren't back yet. Everything ok?_

_Lucas~ no time to sneak out. Did u?_

_Jamie~ please tell me that you aren't still out partying. You have class tomorrow morning._

_Lucas~ hope u found a way out. Ur dad looks pissed!_

_Jamie~ you know you lose brain cells each time you binge drink._

_Lucas~ damn I think ur dad is going 2 arrest me. My mom will kill me!_

_Jamie~ You will hate yourself in the morning if you stayed at Sigma Nu house. We promised each other no walk of shame ever!_

_Lucas~ shit I'm going 2 jail! ttyl_

_Jamie~ I'm really starting to worry. Have you been kidnapped?_

Sami didn't know what to do between Jamie's mothering texts and Lucas' apparent run in with the law, which was basically her family, news of the bust at Luna's was probably going to run rampant around campus.

"Got a lot of messages?" EJ asked wondering why Sami was shaking her head.

"Just ones from Jamie and Lucas," Sami replied.

"Lucas? The guy you went to the bar with tonight?"

"He's a friend, really he's Carrie's booty call when she gets mad at Austin although she'd deny that until the day she died, but Lucas told me a while back they had been with one another before. I've got to call Jamie. I hope she hasn't waited up all night for me to get back to our dorm room."

"Jamie's your best friend? The one who apparently looks out for you?"

Sami nodded her head and handed him her phone and let him read the messages, while EJ didn't like the ones from this Lucas character at all it was nice to know someone was looking out for Sami's welfare.

"You're lucky to have Jamie as a friend, she seems to genuinely care about you," EJ commented as he handed her phone back.

"She's awesome, the only friend I truly trust in this world. She knows all my secrets and still likes me. You know what's it like to have a best friend like that don't you?"

EJ shook his head, "Not really. Never got too close to anyone before beyond being classmates and then it was always so competitive to stay at the top of the class."

"Wouldn't really know what that was like," Sami commented with more than a trace of sarcasm.

EJ smiled, "Of course you wouldn't my dear, but it was important for me to succeed."

"To be the best?"

"Yes and then my mother would caution me to carefully select my friends, so while I had many acquaintances I didn't have what you'd call a best friend. Plus she was always afraid that I'd fall into the wrong crowd."

"That's sad, everyone should have at least one true friend they can count on," Sami commented and then blushed, realizing she was probably making EJ feel terrible and that wasn't her intention at all.

EJ shrugged his shoulders, "It could be worse, I had my family even though it was only my mother, step father and his mother. Plus my mother was kind of different from most mums and I never wanted anyone to make fun of her."

"Different how?"

"She's a bit eccentric, very verbose and possibly a tad overenthusiastic about certain things."

Sami couldn't imagine EJ with that type of mother since he seemed very reserved most of the time. Tonight was really the first time he had even opened up about himself to her beyond the mere basic things she had been learning about him.

"Well I like being different. I bet I would like your mother," Sami stated with conviction.

"She would probably like you as well since you aren't afraid to be yourself which is something she truly believes in embracing. But you don't want to hear boring stories about me and you need to call your friend Jamie."

"I'll call her in a minute; right now I want to know more about you since you never talk about yourself. You said you have a step father, what about your dad? Don't you ever see him?"

"I don't know who he is; mother would cease to speak if I even brought up wanting to know anything about him. Thus this was one of the reasons I came to Salem."

"Why Salem?"

"One day she slipped up and mentioned she had lived here for a while before she left the states and went to live with my step father in England. When I questioned her about it, she kind of lost it and then my step father, who had adopted me when I was a mere child, explained that some things were better left alone."

"Which only made you want to know more," Sami added.

"Precisely, while I know you have a difficult time fitting in with your family, I feel like a huge part of me is missing. What if I have other siblings? All I've ever had is Mum, Edmund and Nanny Crumb and while I had a wonderful childhood I can't help but feel like I missed out on a lot of things by being sheltered so much by her."

"So you think your father may be here in Salem?"

"I don't know he might be since this was the last place Mum lived before she left. I've done the math, she was already pregnant by the time she met Edmund."

"Maybe I could help you find him?" Sami offered up hopefully. "I mean after all you are helping me so the least I could do is return the favor."

EJ was silent for a moment, it was nice of Samantha to want to help him, but he was already getting in so deep with her and this would be one more thing. "I wouldn't want to impose on you. It might all end up being a wild goose chase since I don't have any clear leads on who my father might be."

"I thought you said we were friends, and since we are going to be friends with benefits…"

"Are you really sure you want that Samantha? I know we kind of did that crazy agreement thing, but if you want out I completely understand."

"I'm sure unless you want to get out of it yourself," Sami said as she began to doubt EJ really wanted to help her learn about sex.

Here was his out if he wanted it, he could say it had just been the events of the night that led up to such an idiotic situation between them and this was unwise of them to continue down this road. He looked at her, this girl whom would offer up to help him find his birth father if he taught her about sex. She was very perplexing to him.

"EJ, do you want out of this? I'll still help you find your dad even if you have no desire to be with me physically. I mean I know I'm not hot like my sister…"

He didn't want Samantha to think she was less than her sister, the one who apparently always took the spotlight away from her. He couldn't understand why anyone would want Carrie when they could have this intriguing girl instead. Because for him, the choice was obvious, so before he overanalyzed things too much he did something incredibly foolish instead, he pulled her to him and kissed her.


	13. Chapter 13

**Change of Heart**

**Chapter 27**

Third time was apparently the charm because this kiss made them both breathless with its intensity. While neither could complain about the other two brief kisses they had shared, this one continued onward quickly moving toward something EJ knew Samantha wasn't ready for despite all her bravado she had displayed earlier when asking if he would be the one to take her virginity from her.

He pulled back away from the kiss and looked into her eyes. He hoped he had convinced her with this kiss that she was the one he wanted, hell he'd never want a pale substitute like her bratty sister Carrie.

He leant in closer, until their foreheads touched and just breathed her unique scent in, faint hints from the shampoo she used on her hair, a fragrance that contained jasmine and something else he couldn't quite place quite yet. She sighed and his hands trailed down her neck. He paused to feel her pulse flutter beneath his fingertips, it was racing.

"Are you convinced now?" EJ asked softly while he kept tracing some kind of unimaginable patterns on her neck which made her drop her neck to one side captured one of his hands in the crook.

She looked slightly disoriented by his question. "Convinced?"

"You're the one who interests me, not your sister at all. Quite frankly I'm baffled over why Carrie is the sought out sister when you're the one who is so out of the ordinary."

Sami pulled back away from EJ with wariness in her eyes, "You mean I'm the freaky one. Everyone favors Carrie over me, always have and always will."

"I'm not everyone," EJ stated matter of fact.

"No you're not," Sami agreed with him for once which actually kind of surprised EJ in a way.

"Let me tell you about a girl, one whom from the first moment I saw her sitting or rather sleeping in my classroom that she intrigued me to the point where everyone else fades in comparison. Why would I want the ordinary when I could have extraordinary instead?"

Sami shook her head, "Look I know my faults and limitations. You don't have to butter me up with flattery because as I stated before I want you to teach me things about sex so this is kind of like a sure thing for you."

EJ scoffed, "You my dear are not what I would consider a sure thing because you've had me guessing what you would do from the start. Sure things are like those girls you've mentioned to me Tori, Brittney, even your sister Carrie. I don't like things that come easy and never have I thought you were easy. I've had to work my ass off to even get you to like me."

There he'd put it out there, in a roundabout way he was asking her if she liked him because he was way in over his head about her, the like stage had morphed into something more so quickly that it was quite scary for him.

Sami gave him another look like he was punking her, "You've did no such thing! You have aggravated me from the start, but I never thought you liked me at all."

While we may have both admitted before tonight that we liked each other it was in a sense of liking each other's company, not like, like and damn if he didn't feel like he was back in high school wondering if the pretty girl in class would like him if he spoke up. He had to give it to her she was good holding her own against him and his charm; he should have known she wasn't going to admit to something that easily. Apparently nothing was easy with Samantha Brady even if she liked the claim the exact opposite.

He guessed he'd have to amp up the charm a bit more for her, well that amongst other things. He skimmed his hands down her sides, not quite touching her like he had on her neck, but he was close enough to make her wonder what his next move would be since she hadn't been forthcoming on whether she truly liked him or not.

"Oh I liked you because you're not like those cookie cutter girls who all act and think the same. You want me to show you a sample of how much I do like being around you?"EJ asked his voice becoming husky as he eyed her up and down.

She nodded not even being able to say anything else. She'd never had anyone look at her that way before much less say something laden with innuendo and it was rather intoxicating to have intense scrutiny from someone without her doing a thing to cause such a reaction.

He waited a few seconds and her breathing became faster from what he guessed would be the anticipation of what he might do to her. He felt it too though, an expectancy where he wanted to get closer, to taste her, to get her out of those clothes she was wearing and show her exactly what she did to him, but it was too soon for that kind of thing. He needed to take things slow with her, to make her yearn for him like he yearned for her.

"Samantha, I want to kiss you again."

"You do?"Her eyes flickered with disbelief over his statement.

"I'm pretty sure you _want _me to kiss you, and this is new territory for me too. I don't want you to think I'm taking this all lightly, this proposal you have given to me."

She pulled her bottom lip inward momentarily and before EJ had a chance to expound about what that might mean she cut him off with those enticing lips. Her touch was shaky and tentative and she almost missed his mouth in her attempt but he turned his head enough for their lips to connect once more.

It was perfect, she was perfect for him and he was more turned on by her than he'd ever been in his life and that thought was scary and exciting all at the same time.

He pulled back just far enough to look at her once more. Her face looks determined like she wants to take that leap off into the unknown, but still scared too.

"Okay," is all I get in way of a reply from her.

I smile what I hope is a reassuring smile and proceed to just do what I said I wanted to do which was to kiss her.

I try not to scare her with the intensity of my kiss, I swear I don't want her to shy away from me, but she tastes like sunshine on a warm spring day, the eagerness of holidays approaching and everything I've ever wanted in my whole entire life.

Oh my god, what have I gotten myself into with this girl? Samantha should find someone she could actually see out in the open, to be free to date and not have anyone censure her for her choice, but if she chooses to be with me, we won't have those kinds of options at all. We're in a no win situation.

She deserves to be courted, to be shown how much she is worthy of someone's attention and time because she is making me feel like it's my first kiss. The excitement and wonder of it all makes me realize that I'm the lucky one that she chose me, not the other way around.

I want to tell her all those things and more I really do, but then her fingers curl as she tugged at the bottom of my shirt like she's trying to find a anchor and when she made that little desperate sound of wanting more I feel like I'm about to cum and all we are doing it merely kissing one another.

I pulled her up against me and it feels like the answer to a riddle that I've tried to unravel for so long. Samantha is the missing piece of me that I've been searching for all my life. My arms go around her waist, shoring her in even closer and I feel like I could kiss her like this for days on end.

Somehow she has pulled up my shirt to feel my skin and I think I am walking us both backwards towards…something though god knows what it is at the moment. Have we hit a table or the wall?

I don't want to stop, but we need to because this isn't what we decided to do, although somehow I've worked my hands up under her shirt. I can feel the lace edging of the bra she is wearing and that only makes me want to see it on her instead of guessing what she looks like without her shirt.

I've always prided myself on having patience, but when one of my hands accidentally touched her breast within the lacy confines of a bra that I'm dying to see, well I really want to see what's underneath the bra and she whimpered her approval that when I know I have to call a halt to whatever this is that we're doing or I'm going to fuck her up against the wall and her first time needs to be special, not some hurried coupling to assuage my needs.

We pull apart and I think I'm the one who is about to hyperventilate instead of her although she looks pretty close to that herself.

"I need to go back to my dorm," she stated shakily.

I silently nodded my agreement because if not I'm afraid my good intentions of waiting will end up with me taking her against the wall, or my kitchen table, or on the floor or maybe even in the shower and I haven't even begun to think of all that I could show her in my bed.

"I'll take you," I somehow manage to get out without sounding like I've run a marathon.

"I can walk."

"No, I'll take you. Surely there won't be anyone up to see us at this time of night."

"I guess you're right, plus since my room is on the first floor, I can climb in the window instead of going through the lobby."

The things she says sometimes makes me laugh. How does this girl come up with all of these crazy ideas?

"Breaking and entering?" I ask with a quirk of my eyebrow now that I've sufficiently put some much needed distance between us.

"It's not breaking and entering if it's your own dorm room."

"Semantics," I began as she turns away to go find her phone. I can see her texting something on her phone, probably a text for her roommate and then she grabs her pocketbook.

"I'm ready to go."

I wish she weren't but if not I'm afraid neither one of us will make class in the morning.

"I expect to see you in class," I remind her once more.

She rolled her eyes over my expectations for her and the sexual tension is gone at least for now.

"Maybe you'll see me, maybe you won't," she teased and I'm tempted to kiss her again, but then we won't get out of here for sure.

The last glimpse I get of her after she leaves the car which she made me park a good ways from her dorm is of her running to the dorm, but not before she stopped and turned back to give me a quick wave goodbye.

My heart quickens a beat from her simple gesture and I know one thing is for sure. I'm hopelessly captured under her spell.

What am I going to do? I know I should stop this before it goes any further. I start the car and drive back to my apartment which suddenly seems smaller without her presence.

Samantha has ensnared me without her even realizing it. She's the one for me. Now I'm going to have to convince her I'm the one for her too.

Is that even possible? Somehow I have to try. Somehow, someway.

I want Samantha Brady to be mine.


	14. Chapter 14

**Change of Heart**

**Chapter 28**

I know now that my lateness coming home has upset my roommate because as soon as I finish climbing into the window she is on me like white on rice, her voice is a mixture between worried and really pissed off. "Where in the world have you been?"

"In jail, I just finished making my escape from the joint and headed here first" I quip, but when I see the horror on face I immediately feel ashamed for making my best friend upset.

"Samantha Gene Brady," she begins on what I am sure to be one of her lectures about how easily it is to ruin my reputation when I hold up a hand to stop her from launching off into a full diatribe over the evils of frat boys, alcohol, unprotected sex and how I don't want my life to be like an episode of the _Jersey Shore_.

On that note though no way would I ever get a spray tan that makes my palest skin look like a can of Tropicana orange juice and two if my life was compared to a TV show _Awkward_ would be more my speed since god knows all I do is bumble around and generally make myself look like an imbecile in front of Professor Wells aka the campus hottie who has agreed to take my virginity from me.

Thinking about EJ and the agreement we finally decided upon which will one day actually devirginize me I'm lost in thought of exactly what my lessons in sex will actually entail that I'm not even listening to Jamie who just pushed my hand down away from her face and I think is currently saying how the gossip of tonight's police raid of Luna's has already hit the den of the dorms.

This finally gets me to focus on my best friend instead of fantasizing about what EJ may or may not do to me on my first lesson of how to lose your virginity in the advanced college version of having your hot professor seduce you where your panties will probably have a flame rating on them by the time he is finished with you. Although for me to even begin those illicit lessons of amour sometime in the near future he told me I have to be in his class in the morning if he had to be there.

"Jamie, I have to get into the bed, I've got English Lit class in the morning at eight and I can't be late for class."

The stunned look on my roommate's face is almost comical and she stops midsentence about underage drinking being one of the reasons our generation is so messed up about their priorities.

"Did you get abducted by aliens instead of going out partying with Lucas and his dumb frat brothers tonight?" Jamie asks with a straight face because I can tell she sure as hell doesn't believe that I'm worried about missing class much less being late to a class.

I shake my head cautiously and give her a smile, "No, I went with Lucas and we did party with some of the guys, but I can assure you no alien abduction happened during our bouts of drinking and dancing."

Jamie placed her hands on her hips, "So Lucas was a gentleman and brought you back home instead of whisking you away to the frat house and taking advantage of you in your slightly inebriated state?"

"Lucas a gentleman? Come on Jamie you know better than to think he would ever come to my rescue, he's my drinking buddy who is secretly in love with my ho of a sister Carrie."

Then I instantly feel bad for saying Lucas is in love with Carrie, secretly or not because I know Jamie has always liked Lucas even if she gets tongue tied around him and starts blushing all different shades of pink whenever he is around.

"I don't really think he is in love with her, but you know what I mean," I began to explain which really isn't helping because Jamie knows the score, unless she decides to step up and finally tell Lucas how she feels about him all she will ever do is be on the sidelines hoping one day he will notice her as more than just my sweet best friend.

"It doesn't matter what I think about Lucas," Jamie shook her head and for the thousandth time I want to will her some confidence with guys, not like I'm an expert with them, but compared to me Jamie is verging on joining the convent before she would get the nerve up to tell a guy how she felt about him. "What does matter is what happened tonight and how did you get back home if Lucas didn't bring you back home?"

I don't say anything for a few seconds debating on whether or not to tell Jamie the truth that I was with EJ, but I haven't ever lied to her because she has been my confidant for years. I mean this girl has been privy to all my _I'm going to get Austin Reed to fall in love with me and dump my sister Carrie_ schemes even though each and every one of those hair brained ideas crashed and burned in the end.

"EJ brought me back to the dorm tonight," is the condensed version of what happened although I doubt Jamie will want to hear the condensed version since she has been up all night worrying that something bad happened to me while I was out partying and she was being the good girl studying for her classes.

"EJ, as in the tall, dark and handsome Professor Wells that most of the people on campus are lusting after him, EJ?"

"Do you know anyone else named EJ?" I counter back to her.

"You're on a first name basis with the hottest professor that has ever graced Salem University?"

I nod my head. "Yes, he told me to call him EJ after we kissed."

"Are you drunk and delusional because you just said you kissed Professor Wells?"

It all comes out in a rush of words from me, "Not, drunk anymore, and believe me I never thought I would kiss him either, but when Luna's was raided I lip locked with him so that I could escape before Daddy realized I was at the bar. Then I was mortified and he kissed me again and he was going to bring me back to the dorm, but I fell asleep which he didn't want to embarrass me so he took me to his apartment and then when I woke up I asked him if he would be the one to take my virginity and after a lot of convincing from me that if he didn't do it I was going to ask one of those idiot frat boys instead he agreed to do it. But you have to swear to me that you'll never tell anyone because he could get in trouble with the school if this got out."

For once my best friend Jamie is completely dumbfounded; in fact she kind of looks like EJ did when I asked him to take my virginity.

"Jamie, you don't think I'm a slut for asking EJ do you?"

She just stands there all quiet and contemplative kind of like she used to do when I would tell her of the latest stunt I would come up with when I thought I could win Austin away from Carrie, but this is totally different.

I mean EJ is a man, all man, the way he looked at me tonight is something I'll never forget and those kisses were out of this world amazing.

Jamie takes my hands and leads me to sit down on my bed, her voice has turned serious on me all of the sudden. "Are you sure about this Sami? I don't want you to get hurt."

"I care about him Jamie," is all that I can say god knows it doesn't make sense, but I do.

"Do you think he cares about you?"

"He tried to talk me out of it, but I wouldn't listen."

"Maybe you should reconsider," Jamie is being completely honest which is why I love her like a sister, well like the sister I always wanted since Carrie is such a bitch to me.

"I won't say anything to anyone and I'll be here for you no matter what, but I really think you need to think of the ramifications of what this could mean for both of you."

I hate it when Jamie gets all grown up and is the voice of reason because a huge part of me knows what she is saying to me is because she doesn't want to see me heartbroken if things go wrong and most times with me if anything can go wrong, it will.

"Jamie, I think I'm falling in love with him. I mean I can't speak for EJ, but I know he feels something for me. I've never felt this way about anyone and before you say it this eclipses anything I ever claimed to feel for Austin."

She takes a minute to digest this confession from me. "I swear I won't say a word of this to anyone then, but promise me you will be careful."

I reach out to her to give her a hug, "I promise."

She hugs me back and the last thing she says to me before she gets up and goes to her bed is, "God help you both then."

I know she thinks I'm crazy, hell I think I'm crazy, but I can't help it. I'm falling in love with EJ Wells and I'm going to take this leap into the unknown with him. I think I'm starting to realize what we could have is the stuff of romance and all those flowery phrases of poetry he believes in because for once in my life I'm starting to believe in those things too.

_God help us both._


End file.
